Jan. 20, 2012 at 1:08am with 49 notes
Reblogged from sfmoma
the first time i saw a rothko exhibit i was in london. we walked into the gallery. the space was dark and abandoned. we were two of only a handful of people in the space. the walls covered in these towering, oversized works.  the exhibit spoke of rothko’s series as being windows of a prison cell. the daunting size of his paintings created an intimidating presence. the windows, the darkness, created an oppressive atmosphere. a feeling of being trapped.  sfmoma: Excerpt from a terrific blog post about a photographer’s encounter with the 1961 U.K. debut of Mark Rothko’s paintings: Does context matter in this case? Rothko’s works, after all, speak to deeper emotional experiences — those of the unconscious mind. Many first-hand accounts describe quasi-religious encounters with his work, a response Rothko fully intended his viewers to have. Though it may be tempting to read certain contemporary political and other associations into Rothko’s works… was their astonishment simply because Brits had never seen anything like this before? (via SFMOMA)

the first time i saw a rothko exhibit i was in london. we walked into the gallery. the space was dark and abandoned. we were two of only a handful of people in the space. the walls covered in these towering, oversized works. 

the exhibit spoke of rothko’s series as being windows of a prison cell. the daunting size of his paintings created an intimidating presence. the windows, the darkness, created an oppressive atmosphere. a feeling of being trapped. 

sfmoma:

Excerpt from a terrific blog post about a photographer’s encounter with the 1961 U.K. debut of Mark Rothko’s paintings:

Does context matter in this case? Rothko’s works, after all, speak to deeper emotional experiences — those of the unconscious mind. Many first-hand accounts describe quasi-religious encounters with his work, a response Rothko fully intended his viewers to have. Though it may be tempting to read certain contemporary political and other associations into Rothko’s works… was their astonishment simply because Brits had never seen anything like this before?

(via SFMOMA)

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