Beyond the edge of the plane: The space of the self in the art of Agnes Martin, Vija Celmins, and Roni Horn

Abstract

Agnes Martin (1912–2004), Vija Celmins (born 1938), and Roni Horn (born 1955) each proceed in their practice by acknowledging that it is the pursuit of an ideal, rather than its attainment, that is most generative to their work. But what exactly might this shared approach or sensibility amount to? In the literature, writers have often alluded to connections between these artists without elaboration or exploration. There has been a relatively broad acknowledgement of the shared sensibility of these artists, yet a marked absence of sustained scholarly investigation into the exact terms of this artistic correspondence, meaning that potential connections between these artists have not been sufficiently explored. Many of the interpretive obstacles in developing such connections are historical. For one, these artists are each separated by a generation. Martin developed what she considered her mature practice during the late 1950s and 1960s in New York. Celmins developed the foundations of her practice in 1960s Los Angeles. Horn began her practice in the 1970s in New York and Iceland. Additionally, the literature on each artist has been characterised by a grappling with how exactly to place their work in relation to the dominant paradigms of the 1960s and 1970s, be that minimalism, neo-dada, pop, or postminimalism. The central claim of this thesis is that while these artists may be positioned at the edge of the dominant categories or movements of the long 1960s, this position has allowed each artist to develop a more expansive sense of space. Hence, I argue, they have thereby been able to develop a potentially more expansive experience for the viewer. By thoroughly considering the dialogue between the work of Martin, Celmins, and Horn, we can develop a greater understanding of a particular kind of expression of expansive space that has traditionally existed beyond the edge of the plane and has thereby escaped the historical record.