Up@dawn 2.0

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The evolution of Mark Rothko

This is not from my reading, but I thought it might be of interest.

The artist, Mark Rothko, is illustrative of how an artist can move from the representational to the abstract or even more accurately, nonobjective art. Rothko was a Russian Jewish immigrant who left the comfort of his large family in Seattle to cross the country for college and ended up a major American artist. He left college and bounced around New York City before finding himself through art. Some of his early works depict scenes from the subway platforms, and you can see those echoes in the work that he became known for later.
 

It seems rather apparent to me that Rothko realized that he was most engaged with color rather than the particular subject matter and stripped the subject away to concentrate on that aspect. The work that made him famous deals strictly with fields of color. There is a Tony award-winning play, Red, about his struggles with the largest commission ever granted at the time, creating a series of works for the new Seagram building in New York. Rothko was also the subject of the most recent American Masters series on PBS.








3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the bonus art lesson, Art!

    Does it make me a Philistine to admit that I prefer the pre-evolved, representational Rothco? Color is interesting, but people living their lives is moree directly engaging. Or, am I supposed to somehow "see" that in the later work?

    What would Dewey say?

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  3. Rothko often compared his work to religious experience. To fully appreciate them, you needed to sit in front of them and contemplate the works. Reproductions lose the depth and layers he applied. Being large paintings, you can lose yourself in them. Dewey might appreciate this experiential asp.ect Ever hear of the Rothko Chapel in Houston? Very community centered!

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