A couple of squares? I CoULdD paint ThAt! How many times have we heard that common phrase when talking about contemporary art? Who cares about modern art when art is only reduced down to a couple of lines and squares? Well, today we dive into the simplicity and complexity of Mark Rothko and truly answer; is Mark Rothko just a bunch of squares? I am by no means a high-brow art collector, but I did study art history in college and I can say that I am an art lover. I’ve been watching a lot of Brittney Broski on YouTube under her art history section and I recently watched her video essay on Mark Rothko at the end of the video she encouraged viewers to find out if there were any Rothko’s near them and go see them in person because allegedly in her opinion it’s a piece of art that must be experienced in person. Following her instruction, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Modern Art here in Los Angeles and I will say I was blown away. The particular Rothko that was on display that day was the Rust and Blue (1953)The size of the canvas engulfed me and transported me into a deep reflection of my emotions.
The thing about Rothko is that he only exists as you want him to exist, he meets you where you are. It’s something so beautiful that by the simple use of color, he can evoke an emotion that is rooted only within the viewer, which allows it to be so many things, his paintings constantly shapeshift. My takeaway from Rothko’s first painting I saw, made me feel trapped but in a way that makes me feel more cautious about paying attention to the present moment. The thing about Rothko is that if you think you hate it, you’ll hate it, if you look at Rothko as just a bunch of squares- he is indeed a bunch of squares but when you focus less on the painter and more on how it makes you as the viewer feel, new things start to arise. If you see nothing is there then nothing will be there. Rothko meets you where you are, and he doesn’t force any narrative other than that. His use of colors kind of reminds me of that scene from The Devil Wears Prada when Meryl Streep’s character Miranda says it’s not just blue “It’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean.” Then proceeded to go on about the gravity of color association and by even the slightest shift in value in a color can make you feel a completely different emotion. Anyway in all the pretentiousness of the art world, there is something to be said about the exploration of oneself through the reflection of color. How color association differs from person to person drawing on memories we forgot we even had. Rothko in that way makes each and every one of his paintings intimate and it is almost only in his brushstrokes, that can you catch a glimpse of the rhythm and feeling behind the artist looking back at you.
What comes up must come down, and Rothko is no exception to this common phrase.
Mark Rothko proves that there is a constant pattern in society. Rothko serves as an act of resistance from a traditional style of painting. However, this begs the question to me what becomes the product of resisting resistance? Is that just more traditionalism or does that convert into a new era of resistance or does it bleed together and become more resistance? At what point does that resistance just become normal? I mean, everyone in the world at one point thought the earth was flat until we all didn’t, but it takes a new perspective to do so. Rothko to me is quite political, he is quite literally the vain of resistance as a stand-alone painter.
In all, I went into the Museum of Contemporary Modern Art with no expectations and I was completely blown away by how many things I could find in just one square! Ha! One of my good friends Eloise once said ‘I love it when an artist doesn’t tell you how to feel, they simply give you the tools and you figure it out for yourself.’ Which is so true! True artistry to me is just expression and from life being life, not someone who tells you how to live. Rothko wraps life in a big bow allowing you to discover yourself within yourself, and what greater gift can you ask from an artist?
Pinkies up,
-M
