No. 16 (Red, Brown, and Black)
“I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.” -Rothko
Personal Thoughts:
What Rothko accomplishes so skillfully here is the creation of atmosphere and the expansion of something flat and two-dimensional into a very dynamic and multi-dimensional thing such as emotion. Specifically, the artist creates a sense of pensiveness, retreating from flashy materialism into the arguably cavernous corners of our minds and suggesting an organic state deeply rooted in silence.
As in all his other pieces, Rothko uses color here to convey a poignant feeling, scale and hue to envelop the viewer so that one is within the painting rather than front, and varying saturation to create a balanced composition.
Question:
I think I would have easily "missed the point" if I didn't ask the following: What do you feel when you experience No. 16? Can you pinpoint why?
Maybe it's the glare from the window on my tiny computer screen, but this just looks like paint sampling on walls . . . what do I feel? Hmmm. Maybe if I were to stare at it for a bit, I'd feel something bigger, but right now I just don't! What do you feel, Jen? WHat are we "supposed" to feel?
ReplyDeleteIf this makes any sense at all: I feel like I want to be orange. Ya know?
It might be helpful to place this painting -- which yes, is absolutely toned down, a bit misty and muted, as if one were seeing a brighter Rothko from behind a smokescreen or a dense cover of fog -- in context with Rothko's other work.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the range of Rothko's (gorgeous!) paintings
here.
Jenn, I'm not sure how you'd respond to James, but it seems to me as if James is on to something when he says, "I feel like I want [it] to be orange." My sense is that we're absolutely supposed to feel that; there's a luminosity and intensity that Rothko often gives us that is missing in this piece. (What is the date of it?) I still find this painting very beautiful, almost wine-y, or tea-stained, as if it has been steeped and aged and yet still has hints of color and beauty to offer-- compare it, for instance, to his final paintings, which are incontrovertibly despairing and anticipate the painter's suicide. (The link is to a youtube discussion, in front of his final paintings, by the painter's daughter.)
What kind of response does this painting inspire in you, Jenn? It would be so helpful to know! And any further comments you have about Rothko vis a vis Stella would also be great. Did you choose this particular Rothko to highlight the contrast between the two?
All best,
Phoebe
Here are the live links:
ReplyDeleteFor Rothko's vast and gorgeous range of paintings,
click here
To see Rothko's very late paintings (very sober in blacks and greys), and hear his adult daughter discuss them on youtube, click here.