I hope I have made it clear that the work is about perfection as we are aware of it in our minds but that the paintings are very far from being perfect - completely removed in fact - even as we ourselves are.
Agnes MartinRead
My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.
Interpretation
Agnes Martin suggests that her paintings convey deeper insights and feelings rather than just visual appearances.
This quote by Agnes Martin emphasizes that true art transcends surface-level observation; it relies on the internal knowledge and emotions that the artist and the viewer carry within them. Her works aim to resonate with the mind and spirit, evoking an understanding that goes beyond mere visual representation.
In practice
This quote could be used in an art class to discuss the deeper meanings behind artworks.
I hope I have made it clear that the work is about perfection as we are aware of it in our minds but that the paintings are very far from being perfect - completely removed in fact - even as we ourselves are.
The value of art is in the observer.
The main thing in making art often is letting go of your expectation and your idea.
Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.
What we really want to do is serve happiness. We want everyone to be happy, never unhappy even for a moment. We want the animals to be happy. The happiness of every living thing is what we want.
Any material may be used but the theme is the same and the response is the same for all artwork... we all have the same concern, but the artist must know exactly what the experience is. He must pursue the truth relentlessly
If all meanings could be adequately expressed by words, the arts of painting and music would not exist.
I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.
It is not art in the professionalized sense about which I care, but that which is created sacredly, as a result of a deep inner experience, with all of oneself, and that becomes 'art' in time.
I paint the way someone bites his fingernails; for me, painting is a bad habit because I don't know nor can I do anything else.
The only real elegance is in the mind; if you've got that, the rest really comes from it.
A human being creates complexity by writing a novel on the surface of paper; a weather system creates complexity by writing waves on the surface of an ocean. What is the difference between the information carried in the words of a novel and the information carried on the waves of the sea? Listen, and the waves will speak, and someday, I tell you, you will write your thoughts on the surface of the sea.
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