This was painted in 1957, but that is pretty close to 1960.
Because of the size of Rothko's paintings, you are allowed to become consumed by the image. You are allowed to put your full self in the painting and get out of it whatever you want or can. The colors are affecting and inspire personal contemplation. You are forced to watch one color turn into another, as well as watch the same color appear to change colors.
A wiry old bookseller told me this story once (possibly it is a famous story, but I don't know):
Rothko and a woman were in his studio in New York. Many of Rothko's pieces were placed around the apartment. It was nighttime, the windows were open, and the woman commented, "Your paintings look beautiful in this city light."
Rothko looked at the woman, half smiled, and said, "These aren't paintings."
1 comment:
When I went to Hong Kong my freshman year, I was very surprised to find a Rothko exhibit there. I had only seen copies in books but nothing compared to the real thing. They were massive and reminded me of being a child and having to do so many things with colored squares (like in Candyland, your teacher's bulletin board, art class color wheels, etc). You definitely described it right- being sucked into them. It's one of the few times in paintings for me where small details don't overwhelm me but the large expanses of color do.
-Reshma
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