Incidental compositions

Yesterday I had a trip to London to visit a couple of specific exhibitions, namely Agnes Martin at Tate Modern, and Carsten Holler: Decision at the Hayward Gallery (more about the exhibitions in later blog posts).

The exit from the Agnes Martin exhibition leads visitors to a cafe and viewing platform. Some maintenance work was being carried out to the cafe, and amongst the chaos I found some beautiful incidental compositions.

Agnes Martin: With my back to the world

'With my back to the world' is a documentary about the painter, Agnes Martin. Shot over a four-year period, it ends in 2002 when Martin entered her 90th year. Footage of Martin working in her studio in Taos, New Mexico is mixed with interviews with the artist in which she covers topics such as Minimalism, inspiration and isolation, as well as discussing her working methods.

Towards the end of the documentary Martin describes beauty as "an illustration of happiness". 

This statement made me reflect on my work, and reminded me of a discussion at 1 Royal Terrace that centred around the difference between prettiness and beauty in relation to my Brimming exhibition. I believe that beauty comes from within whereas prettiness is something applied to the outside.