“I paint large pictures because I want to create a state of intimacy. A large picture is an immediate transaction; it takes you into it.” (Mark Rothko). Mark Rothko is an abstract expressionist from the mid- century Modernistic period, untypical artist from this period. Rothko’s use and understanding of colours and emotions created a new ‘step’ in art. Rothko aspirations aimed to evoke immense power to produce emotions through his art in a similar way that poetry and music can. One specific painting is ‘untitled’, reflecting Rothko’s intentions of creating ‘mystery’ in his paintings. This painting has earthy, sombre colours, chosen with the aim of a painting holding a “mature style, composed of soft-edged blocks of colour that float above each other” Michael Lloyd. This luminous painting hangs low on the wall in the National Art Gallery, Washington and is 230cm in height and 193cm wide.
Rothko’s practice consisted of using turpentine and oil paints to construct a painting with the essence of immorality and sadness. These two textures together thinned the paint, allowing the viewer to see past the dark colours to the warm background. Rothko created soft-edged blocks that float in his paintings, making it appear as though they are pulling down on gravity. The ‘untitled’ painting is the definition of simplicity with a great amount of depth in its conceptual meaning. This painting is typical of Rothko’s design and intentions. Rothko uses layers of colours symbolising and capturing the layers of emotions people carry and conceal. His paintings release these hidden emotions as viewers look through the layers of the colours. Only the correct lighting can allow this process to happen, which is why Rothko was so productive and specific about the presentations of his art works. Rothko was part of a group called ‘New York Art School’, which was actually a group of abstract expressionists living in New York in the mid-twentieth century. The Art School established a meeting place in New York's Greenwich Village, The Club, which became a focus of Abstract Expressionist debates and activities from 1949 to around 1960. Rothko’s anti-commercialist attitude reflected the general consensus of the authentic expressionists within the art school. Rothko’s layered effect and use of colour are designed to absorb and emotionally provoke the audience. His ideas were influenced by Jung and Nietzsche. It is suggested Rothko was involved in eternal myth. “His paintings have been described to have no focus; being expressions of indefinite, ambiguous expansion; with the edges of his forms blurred and luminous.” Radford. By 1949 he simplified his forms into rectangles. In the 1960's he did a series of 14 paintings for a chapel in Houston, Texas. He even engaged in the triptych. In the Middle Ages the triptych was used for altarpieces. These paintings had harder edges than his earlier works. They were all large paintings that were more amorphous than his earlier works. Most of the paintings were dark but towards the top the colors became brighter and lighter in color. This method intended to convey a sense of transcendence. As Rothko stated, “a large picture is a transaction, it takes you into it”. In this representation, Rothko’s intentions were not only to take you into the picture but to also take you on a journey upward into a state of transcendence. Rothko’s artwork can be considered as moving in both a physical and emotive sense. |
Mark ROTHKO
Latvia 1903 – United States of America 1970 1957 # 20 1957 oil on canvas signed and dated verso u.l., maroon oil paint, "Mark Rothko / 1957" 233.0 (h) x 193.0 (w) cm Unframed 233.0 (h) x 193.0 (w) x 4.5 (d) cm Purchased 1981 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra NGA 1981.729 © Mark Rothko/ARS. Licensed by Viscopy |