If you are interested. Here is a link to her book Writings. It’s a challenging read because she is relating to difficult concepts from an artist's stance as well as someone deeply spiritual; ultimately investigating ideas that are impossible to articulate. I’m still trying to grok it.
It is hard to realize at the time of helplessness that that i s the time to be awake and aware. The feeling of calamity and loss covers everything. We imagine that we are completely cut off and tremble with fear and dread. The more we are aware of perfection the more we will suffer when we are blind to it in helplessness .
But helplessness when fear and dread have run their course, as all passions do, is the most rewarding state of all. It is a time when our most tenacious prejudices are overcome. Our most tightly gripped resistances come under the knife and we are made more free. Our lack of independence in helplessness is our most detrimental weakness from the standpoint of art work. Stated positively, independence is the most essential character trait in an artist.
Although helplessness is the most important state of mind the holiday state of mind is the most efficacious for artists: "Free and easy wandering" it is called by the Chinese sage Chuang Tzu. In free and easy wandering there is only freshness and adventure. It is really awareness of perfection within the mind. Everyone has memories of adventures within the mind, strange and pleasant memories, but not everyone i s aware of adventures within the mind when they happen.
I want to recommend the exploration of mind and the adventures within in the mind. It takes so much time, that is the difficulty. It is so hard to slow down to the pace where it is possible to explore one's mind. And then of course one must go absolutely alone with not one thought about others intruding because then one would be off in relative thinking.
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ReplyDeleteMore Agnes Martin.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested. Here is a link to her book Writings. It’s a challenging read because she is relating to difficult concepts from an artist's stance as well as someone deeply spiritual; ultimately investigating ideas that are impossible to articulate. I’m still trying to grok it.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36073257/Agnes-Martin-Writings
It is hard to realize at the time of helplessness that that i s the time to be awake and aware. The feeling of calamity and loss covers everything. We imagine that we are completely cut off and tremble with fear and dread. The more we are aware of perfection the more we will suffer when we are blind to it in helplessness .
But helplessness when fear and dread have run their course, as all passions do, is the most rewarding state of all. It is a time when our most tenacious prejudices are overcome. Our most tightly gripped resistances come under the knife and we are made more free. Our lack of independence in helplessness is our most detrimental weakness from the standpoint of art work. Stated positively, independence is the most essential character trait in an artist.
Although helplessness is the most important state of mind the holiday state of mind is the most efficacious for artists: "Free and easy wandering" it is called by the Chinese sage Chuang Tzu. In free and easy wandering there is only freshness and adventure. It is really awareness of perfection within the mind. Everyone has memories of adventures within the mind, strange and pleasant memories, but not everyone i s aware of adventures within the mind when they happen.
I want to recommend the exploration of mind and the adventures within in the mind. It takes so much time, that is the difficulty. It is so hard to slow down to the pace where it is possible to explore one's mind. And then of course one must go absolutely alone with not one thought about others intruding because then one would be off in relative thinking.