Elusive in Life, Agnes Martin Continues to Evade Her Viewers in Death

born of abstract expressionism yet also minimalism at is most delicate — refreshing still to this day. m.

“I’m not a woman,” the American painter Agnes Martin (1912–2004) famously remarked in an interview with her friend Jill Johnston, the radical cultural critic for the Village Voice and author of Lesbian Nation: The Feminist Solution. Martin’s quip was both a succinct expression of the misogynistic art world she’d entered into and characteristic of her evasive personality. Though the large-scale square grids and striped canvases she’s best known for sooner recall those of the Minimalist Sol LeWitt than any Abstract Expressionist, she thought of her work as belonging to the latter group. She disliked talking about her paintings and methods, was resistant to theorizing about art, and strongly opposed the idea of ego and pride fueling an artist’s motivations. She was also a diagnosed schizophrenic and was hospitalized on more than one occasion.

Yet little of these frictions are evident in the serene but challenging 11-room retrospective of Martin’s work now on view at Tate Modern in London, which will travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The show traces the evolution of her work, a trajectory shaped by Martin’s passage from city to desert, represented in a shift from the artist’s tight pencil grids to her wide horizontal and vertical bands of bleached-out, translucent washes of color.

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Photographs by Lasse Hoile

creative photographic process resulting in both realism and abstraction. m.

Lasse Hoile is a renowned Danish graphic artist, photographer, and filmmaker, perhaps best known for his work designing CD covers and live visuals for artists and bands such as Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree. Driven by an innate desire to create, Hoile has explored several integrated art forms, but deems photography “the one medium for me.” His photography is characterized by a heavy, dream-like atmosphere, often mixing bright colors with dark imagery to produce wavering sensations of sadness and fear. Some of the portraits featured here are splattered with paint, partially obscuring the ghost-eyed subjects, all of whom are wearing old-looking clothing. Light is also used to accent the body, infusing vintage imagery with alien neon glows. No matter what time periods or art movements Hoile adapts and experiments with, his work is seamlessly evocative, marked at the center with his signature melancholic style.

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Herzog & de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie Nears Completion

after so many years of work i’m stoked to see this historic retrofit take shape. m.

hamburg’s elbphilharmonie concert hall has moved a step closer to completion after the application of its ‘white skin’ interiors. designed by swiss architects herzog & de meuron, the venue is set to open on january 11, 2017. as part of the construction process, final work is still being carried out on the 6,000 square meter wall and ceiling cladding. this also involves the installation of the organ, which is currently underway.

after construction began in 2007, the project targeted an initial completion date of 2010. the scheme’s elevated 4,000 square meter plaza will open to the public in november 2016, with the concert hall to open two months later.
 
‘we are now well on schedule,’ commented hamburg senator for culture prof. barbara kisseler. ‘this has been the result of excellent collaboration between all stakeholders since the project was completely reorganized a good three years ago. while we will be able to enjoy the stunning sound in the elbphilharmonie hamburg in a little less than a year, it is clear even now that the elbphilharmonie is establishing itself as an architectural jewel in hamburg.’

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Video — The Hatch Notebook is an Ingenious New Brainstorming Tool for Design Entrepreneurs

brilliant design tool — kudos! m.

When it comes to starting a side project (or a “project” project), ironing out early ideas and evaluating them ahead of time — rather than just jumping in — can mean the difference between a hugely successful venture or a massive major headache further down the road. Unfortunately, moving productively through this brainstorming process and staying inspired isn’t always as simple as it seems.

Aiming to help guide makers and design entrepreneurs through the idea hatching process, the Hatch Notebook is a new design tool that helps take ideas from concept to reality with a structured brainstorming system.

“We came up with this idea about a year ago and started using a basic version to organize our own ideas,” says co-creator Liz Downey. “We quickly found that having one place for all our ideas helped us generate more ideas and make connections that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Also, we found that just the act of writing down an idea made it more real and helped us stay committed.”

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