Agnes Martin, The Wave, 1963
wood, plexiglass, and beads, 27.3 x 27.3 x 5.4 cmThe sole kinetic work in Agnes Martin’s entire oeuvre, The Wave consists of a small wooden box covered by a blue-pigmented Plexiglas sheet. At first glance it seems a relatively innocuous creation until, upon lifting the box, it magically springs to life as the small spherical objects inside begin to roll over the corrugated wooden base, releasing a soft whooshing sound which gives voice to the eponymous title. At once, the tactile and aural are activated, transforming what seemed a mute aesthetic object into “an embodied model of spectatorship,” one that activates space and gives line, color, and texture palpability (C. B. Rosenberger, “A Sophisticated Economy of Means,” in Agnes Martin, New York and New Haven, 2011, p. 110).
(from Christie's)
