Agnes Martin: Abstract Expressionism, And Feminism

Agnes Martin was born in 1912 in Canada, the same year as Jackson Pollock (“Agnes Martin”). She died of pneumonia in 2004 at the age of 92 (Laing). She grew up on the open plains of Saskatchewan in Vancouver, Canada (“Agnes Martin”). She claimed to have been able to remember her birth saying she was happy until her mother held her. In an interview with Jill Johnston in 2002, Martin said her mother emotionally abused her saying that her mother “liked seeing people hurt”. Martin found value in the harsh lessons of her childhood such as discipline which show in her work (Laing).
She immigrated to the U.S. in 1931 on her own and worked and studied as a teacher. It was not until she was 30 that she decided to become an artist. She was living in

Her content leaned towards the Abstract Expressionists, but her methods of creating that message were more on the Minimalism side (“Agnes Martin”). In 1967, she was honored as one of Harper’s Bazaar’s 100 Women of Achievement, which she showed up to in casual clothing (Schudel). Martin couldn’t handle the notoriety she was starting to receive for her “political and feminist work”; she claimed her work was neither political or feminist. Her rising fame caused her to break and completely disappear from New York later that year. 18 months after that, she popped up out in New Mexico. Martin was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. She returned to painting in 1971 but her style changed from grid-like compositions to horizontal and vertical lines (Laing). In 1998, Martin was awarded the National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts

Both Fujii and Mori reflect on history, specifically in Japan. Martin’s idea development seems to be less factual and more subjective. If Martin really saw and heard things that other people did not, then that would take away some of the common connection of humans. In Fujii’s and Mori’s work, people of all histories and cultures can find value and connection in the artwork. While Fujii bases his work off of war, disaster, and social events, Mori bases her work off of religion, technology and societal values. Martin bases her work off of the voices in her