Listen / Read
Rothko, though a secular Jew, was inspired by the mythological and the spiritual throughout his life. He received some schooling on the Torah as a boy, which set him apart somewhat from the rest of his family who had been public schooled in Latvia, then a part of Russia. He said that “without monsters and gods, art cannot enact a drama.”
Thus he was happy to develop plans for the Rothko Chapel while it was intended specifically for the Roman Catholic denomination. Though it now stands as a non-denominational construction its design was nonetheless informed by Byzantine architecture and the paintings within have been said to compliment themes within Catholic mysticism. But the massive rectangular blocks of dark colour have also been said to be representatives of Jewish graves. Any interpretation can only be a personal one. Really, how much can you read into massive blocks of colour? The only valid interpretations that can and should be made are purely emotional ones. But in the end, Rothko wanted to create “something you don’t want to look at.” So his plan worked, because I for one don’t intend to.
Indeed I’ve not seen any of Rothko’s signature work in person, but I have seen a few of his earlier paintings which remind me a little of Jackson Pollock’s earlier work. Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea reminds me of Pollock’s Male and Female. Those abstract but recognisable forms were abandoned in Pollock’s later work in favour of splatterings of controlled chaos, and in Rothko’s in favour of dominating ‘multiforms’ of deep and vibrant colour. Both were trying to convey pure emotion in their work, something transcendent of articulated form. Something more like our deepest thoughts, perhaps. The structurally inexpressible, maybe. Something dead clever and way deep anyhow.
Rothko advised that viewers of his multiform work should stand exactly 46 centimetres away from the canvas to create a sense of intimacy within the monolithic presence of the painting. I’ve not had an opportunity to do that, so I can’t really comment on the 46cm experience as compared with a 33cm or 57cm viewing. But I think perhaps it’s possible that if you stare into that expanse of deep and layered colour, allow it to dominate your field of vision and concentrate your mind, then you’ll see in it whatever you have within yourself to codify the emotional response. You’ll see whatever you feel like seeing. Whatever you want to see.
So if you’re a believer you might see the divine (like you do with, gee heck, everything). If you’re not a believer you might see something more human. Or you might think it’s pretentious bollocks and just see a big block of colour. Don’t tell your friends that though, looks like spirituality is back in fashion again. Best to think of something profound to say. And if you really want to impress them, go on national radio and say it.
A Roman Catholic modern art buff. The stuff of dinner party nightmares.