DOCSLIB.ORG

Mark Rothko. Houston Author(S): Stephen Polcari Source: the Burlington Magazine, Vol

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mark Rothko. Houston Author(S): Stephen Polcari Source: the Burlington Magazine, Vol Mark Rothko. Houston Author(s): Stephen Polcari Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 139, No. 1132 (Jul., 1997), pp. 505-507 Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/887531 Accessed: 20-11-2015 23:29 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Burlington Magazine. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 129.62.12.156 on Fri, 20 Nov 2015 23:29:26 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EXHIBITION REVIEWS 72. Collageno.2, by Robert Motherwell. 1945. Paper and oil on carton, 55.1 by 37.3 cm.(National Museumof Ameri- can Art, Washington; exh.Centro de Arte ReinaSofia, Madrid). 73. Thehomely protestant(Bust), by RobertMotherwell. 1947-48.76.2 by 61 cm. (Private collection; exh. Centro de Arte Reina Sofia,Madrid). convulsions of the last years as The Hollow ence than did abstract expressionism. The Houston Men (FromT.S. Eliot)(1983) and Thegolden trouble begins when they are allied to the Mark Rothko bough (1986).4 At every stage Motherwell frequently derivative nature of Mother- had an exquisite colour sense. Although his well's vision. When he was most open about 1996 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of palette was limited (I counted only one use his sources, as in the early rectilinear works one of the most ambitious and ambivalently of green in the entire show), it was never that dramatise Mondrian's towering legacy, successful projects in post-War art, the monotonous. Nor does it seem to relate to the results are strongest. Elsewhere, the Houston Chapel for Human Development, the sensibility of his abstract expressionist debts to Still, Newman, Pollock, de Koon- popularly known as the Rothko Chapel. colleagues. Instead, the earthy harmonies ing, colour-field painting, hard-edge The chapel was the focus of Mark Rothko's vivified by the occasional swathe of orange abstraction and even, one surmises, modish last years of work before he committed sui- or sky blue and structured by black and 1980s neo-expressionism in the final years, cide in 1970. Seen as the climax of his white itself perhaps evince more affinity weigh against Motherwell's bid to join the career and following two earlier series - with, for example, late Braque (Fig.72). One first ranks of his time. Then again, he was projects for the Seagram Building, New wonders if Motherwell just longed to never far behind the frontlines. As this exhi- York (1958-60) and for Harvard University indulge in peinturepeinture (Fig.73). Then the bition proved with profuse evidence and (1961-62) - the Rothko Chapel consists of poetry could have taken care of itself. Yet he gusto, that was no mean feat. fourteen abstract paintings in a building was born into the wrong time and place to DAVIDANFAM inspired by the Church of Santa Fosca on let this happen. Torcello near Venice, a favourite building Consider the titles mentioned above. In 'Previously at the Fundaci6 Antoni Tapies, of Rothko's.1 Barcelona (13thNovember 1996 to 12thJanuary a famous statement, Motherwell once Reaction to the chapel has always been remarked that car- 1997);the show opened in Madridon 5thMarch. mixed. It was intended to be about or 'every intelligent painter Dore Ashton,Norbert light, ries the whole culture of in 2Motherwell.Essays by Lynton modern painting and FranciscoCalvo Serraller,and an annotatedcata- rather, about secularly sacred, inner illumi- his head' and this might almost be his own logue by Joan Banach.276 pp. incl. 79 col. pls. + nation, sacred space and sacred architec- epitaph, albeit in a rather less than positive numerousb. & w. ills. (Fundaci6Antoni Tipies, ture. However, while it is striking in its sense. Certainly the Pollock myth of an Barcelona,and Museo Nacional Centro de ArteReina austere meditativeness, the brilliant light of uncouth genius recklessly flinging out ges- Sofia,Madrid, 1996), $60. ISBN 84-88786-14-X (HB). Texas washes out the paintings in a raking exhibitionvenues are the Marsh Art turalist masterpieces should not be raised as 3The Gallery, incandescence for much of the day. Rothko a stick with which to beat down Mother- University of Richmond (September- November the of andthe of Universi- always preferred half-darkness gothic well's On the other 1997) Spencer Museum Art, so that his seem to intellectuality. hand, of interiors, paintings merge there looms the real threat of the artist as the ty Kansas, Lawrence(March- May 1998). Robert with or out of the Texas Motherwellon Edited emerge dusk; Hamlet of his elo- Paper:Drawings, Prints, Collages. by generation: endlessly DavidRosand, with essays by DavidRosand, Arthur chapel thus seems most frustrating. quent, hyper-sensitive and, too often, C. Danto,Stephen Addiss and MaryAnn Caws.208 It was important that Rothko was able to stymied as a painter by a mind that indeed pp. incl. 136 col. pls. + 33 b. & w. ills. (HarryN. help determine the architectural layout and carried the whole culture of the West within Abrams,Inc., in associationwith the Miriamand Ira thus, the environment for his paintings. The it. In other words, for 'painting' read Eliot, D. WallachArt Gallery,Columbia University, New chapel was an attempt to realise in architec- Frazer, Kierkegaard, Plato, Melville, Bau- York,1997), $60. ISBN 0-8109-4294-1 (PB). ture and a 'a modern mentionshould be made of Banach's light special place, delaire, Joyce, Kafka, Zen, existentialism, 4Special Joan sanctuary'. In keeping with his subject mat- scrupulousand informative documentation in the cat- Spain, Lorca, Lascaux and so on. The list ter throughout his life, Rothko sought to need not be enumerated further because alogueentries. make a numinous that a sacred 5In1978 I wroteto Motherwellwith a researchques- space, is, Motherwell did so for us.5 divorced from the and from tion about the 'Subjectsof the Artist'group. To my sur- place profane Allusions of this kind are not in them- priseand delight he repliedwith a seven-hundredword everyday life. After passing through a selves worrying, especially since few styles of letter.This was entirelytypical of his style and the threshold (Rothko originally hoped for a art have sought a broader frame of refer- antithesisof thatof histight-lipped contemporaries. long entryway to the chapel) the visitor was 505 This content downloaded from 129.62.12.156 on Fri, 20 Nov 2015 23:29:26 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EXHIBITION REVIEWS work - Richard Etlin observes that there is absence, subjects that evoke the tragic sub- 'not merely the absence of light but rather lime without relief. In this room, Anfam the presence of a dark light, existing in its chose several canvases that illustrated both own right'.2 Form and formlessness join, Rothko's dampening down of his famous creating an unintentional debate with Bar- coloured light to one orange or dark white nett Newman and with Ad Reinhardt's bar, and the virtual extermination of his black paintings, by which Rothko was influ- earlier liveliness of brushwork and vitality of enced. inner squares and edge. Newman's Broken obelisk of 1963-67 This room was followed by one that pro- stands in a reflective pool outside the vided the compositional basis for Rothko's chapel. This sculpture turns unadorned triptychs in a study for the Seagram mural Egyptian funerary symbols of closure, con- series of 1958-59 (Sketchfor 'Mural No.7'; tainment and death - a pyramid and an no.1). This study sets up a wider and nar- obelisk - into an upward-thrusting and rower exposition of bands that, incidentally, open flow, matching and transfiguring make up the structure of the chapel. The metaphysical darkness. Newman also room also contained the first, more vertical- changes his generation's concern with frag- ly squared canvases and hard forms which ment - with 'brokenness' - into aspiration continued the effects of the first room. and hope, although not triumph. Like New- Gradually these darker, more absolute, and man's obelisk, Rothko's paintings turn more renunciatory pictorial effects took 74.No.2, by MarkRothko. 1963. Mixed media, 203.8 spiritual 'darkness' to inwardness, but not, over completely in the next room, which by 175.6cm. (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; exh. as in Newman's case, transfiguration. The held seven of the 'black forms' (nos. 10-16), Menil Collection, Houston). chapel is used for different religious services Rothko's most Reinhardt-like canvases. and personal ceremonial events, which Here the inner square expands almost to the to enter a special realm of inner states of recall Rothko's early works such as Ceremoni- edge of the canvas, and begins to create the being. The chapel, and Rothko's paintings, al and the Sacrficeseries of the mid-40s. (Sig- piping effect of the chapel. However, all but pared away the indulgences of conventional nificantly, the word to 'sacrifice' means in its one of the canvases contain horizontal rec- ornamentation of architecture and figura- Latin roots to make sacred.) And, for all its tangles on a darker field, that is, they tion. In their place, the artist sought a prim- Christian shapes stripped of obvious icono- become plain and staunch, increasingly itive elementariness with stucco walls in an graphic references, the chapel is ecumenical geometric and primitive like an unadorned octagonal space, in feeling both classical and used for many different religious rites.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 08 Tate Modern in the Studio
    1 Antony Gormley (b. 1950), Untitled (for Francis), 1985 (Room 1), lead, plaster, polyester resin and fibreglass 1900 × 1170 × 290cm Giovanni Bellini, St Francis in Ecstasy, 1479-85 • Finding Meaning. In this room we have two apparently contrasting works. Over there an abstract work by Eva Hesse and here a human figure by Antony Gormley. They represent contrasting approaches that are explored in the following rooms. Gormley is best known for The Angel of the North (see Visual Aids) an enormous sculpture on a hill near Newcastle. • Construction. This work is called Untitled (for Francis) and was made in 1985. Like many of his other works it was made directly from his own body. He was wrapped in clingfilm by his wife, who is also an artist, and then covered in two layers of plaster. When it had dried the cast was cut from his body, reassembled and then covered in fibreglass and resin. Twenty-four sheets of lead were then hammered over the figure and soldered together. If you look closely you will see that the figure has been pierced in the breast, hands and feet by small holes cut in the lead. • St. Francis. The attitude of the eyeless figure, standing with head tilted back, feet apart and arms extended to display the palms of its hands, resembles that of a Christian saint receiving the stigmata. Stigmata are the five marks left on Christ’s 2 body by the Crucifixion although one of the wounds here is in the breast, rather than, as tradition dictates, in the side.
    [Show full text]
  • A Rumba for Rothko and Other Poems Dennis O'connell Seton Hall University
    Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs) Spring 5-2015 A Rumba for Rothko and Other Poems Dennis O'Connell Seton Hall University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations Part of the Poetry Commons Recommended Citation O'Connell, Dennis, "A Rumba for Rothko and Other Poems" (2015). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 2069. https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2069 A Rumba for Rothko and Other Poems by Dennis O’Connell M.A. Seton Hall University, 2015 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts in Department of English Seton Hall University May 2015 2 © Dennis O’Connell All Rights Reserved 3 Approved by: _______________________________________ Mark Svenvold, Thesis Advisor ________________________________________ Philip Schochet, Second Reader 4 Introduction Throughout the last few years, I have been examining the role that objects play within my poetic production. My hope was to notice my own interaction with objects more precisely and to pursue poetic questions (and philosophical implications about subjectivity and objectivity) that have been asked before by modernist writers such as Gertrude Stein and William Carlos Williams. These two writers in particular had their own reasons for pursuing, through their writing, basic questions about representation of the world in art and language. Stein’s program, modeled after her contemporaries Picasso and Braque, was to offer a fractal, or fragmented sort of representation of the world. Her cubist-inspired presentation in language of portraits of people, for instance, offered in language what the cubists were doing in the visual realm— “objects” of inquiry were shown from multiple perspectives, all at once.
    [Show full text]
  • “Just What Was It That Made U.S. Art So Different, So Appealing?”
    “JUST WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE U.S. ART SO DIFFERENT, SO APPEALING?”: CASE STUDIES OF THE CRITICAL RECEPTION OF AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE PAINTING IN LONDON, 1950-1964 by FRANK G. SPICER III Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Adviser: Dr. Ellen G. Landau Department of Art History and Art CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May, 2009 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Frank G. Spicer III ______________________________________________________ Doctor of Philosophy candidate for the ________________________________degree *. Dr. Ellen G. Landau (signed)_______________________________________________ (chair of the committee) ________________________________________________Dr. Anne Helmreich Dr. Henry Adams ________________________________________________ Dr. Kurt Koenigsberger ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ December 18, 2008 (date) _______________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. Table of Contents List of Figures 2 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 12 Introduction 14 Chapter I. Historiography of Secondary Literature 23 II. The London Milieu 49 III. The Early Period: 1946/1950-55 73 IV. The Middle Period: 1956-59: Part 1, The Tate 94 V. The Middle Period: 1956-59: Part 2 127 VI. The Later Period: 1960-1962 171 VII. The Later Period: 1963-64: Part 1 213 VIII. The Later Period: 1963-64: Part 2 250 Concluding Remarks 286 Figures 299 Bibliography 384 1 List of Figures Fig. 1 Richard Hamilton Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) Fig. 2 Modern Art in the United States Catalogue Cover Fig. 3 The New American Painting Catalogue Cover Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • An Affective Comparison of John Taggart and Mark Rothko
    Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy “You Do Feel Something, Right?” An Affective Comparison of John Taggart and Mark Rothko 2015 – 2016 Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Posman Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of “Master in Taal- en Letterkunde: Engels” by Michel Vandenbossche 2 3 4 5 Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy “You Do Feel Something, Right?” An Affective Comparison of John Taggart and Mark Rothko 2015 – 2016 Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Posman Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of “Master in Taal- en Letterkunde: Engels” by Michel Vandenbossche 6 7 Word of Thanks I would very much like to thank my parents, for their never-ending and unobtrusive support. Their love and faith keep pushing me towards ever greater things. Also, my best friends, who have sat through months of me bothering them with my troubles and writer’s blocks. They are the ones who have kept me going. And last but not least, my supervisor, Sarah Posman, for always being approachable, for replying quickly to all of my questions, and for being the rock on which this dissertation has been built. 8 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 10 2 Contextual Chapters 15 2.1 Affect Theory: A Terminology for the Arts 15 a) The Field of Affect Theory 15 b) Affect, Feeling and Emotion, Mood: Altieri 18 c) Affect and Modernist Abstraction: Sontag and Greenberg 21 d) Weak Affects: Sianne Ngai 23 2.2 Giving the Abstract a Look: Rothko and the Abstract Expressionists 25 a) Abstraction in the Visual Arts
    [Show full text]
  • Faking, Forging, Counterfeiting
    Daniel Becker, Annalisa Fischer, Yola Schmitz (eds.) Faking, Forging, Counterfeiting Daniel Becker, Annalisa Fischer, Yola Schmitz (eds.) in collaboration with Simone Niehoff and Florencia Sannders Faking, Forging, Counterfeiting Discredited Practices at the Margins of Mimesis Funded by the Elite Network of Bavaria as part of the International Doctoral Program MIMESIS. An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. The Open Access ISBN for this book is 978-3-8394-3762-9. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommer- cial-NoDerivs 4.0 (BY-NC-ND) which means that the text may be used for non- commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To create an adaptation, translation, or derivative of the original work and for commercial use, further permission is required and can be obtained by contac- ting [email protected] © 2018 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Na- tionalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de Cover concept: Maria Arndt, Bielefeld
    [Show full text]
  • Tate Report 2013/14­ 2 Working with Art and Artists
    TATE REPORT 2013 /14 2 WORKING WITH ART AND ARTISTS The renovation of Tate Britain by architects Caruso St John includes a spectacular new staircase and a new Members Room overlooking the historic Rotunda TATE REPORT 2013/14 It is the exceptional generosity and vision of If you would like to find out more about how individuals, corporations and numerous private you can become involved and help support foundations and public sector bodies that have Tate, please contact us at: helped Tate to become what it is today and enabled us to: Development Office Tate Offer innovative, landmark exhibitions and Millbank collection displays London SW1P 4RG Tel +44 (0)20 7887 4900 Develop imaginative education and Fax +44 (0)20 7887 8098 interpretation programmes Tate Americas Foundation Strengthen and extend the range of our 520 West 27 Street Unit 404 collection, and conserve and care for it New York, NY 10001 USA Advance innovative scholarship and research Tel +1 212 643 2818 Fax +1 212 643 1001 Ensure that our galleries are accessible and continue to meet the needs of our visitors Or visit us at www.tate.org.uk/support Establish dynamic partnerships in the UK and across the world. CONTENTS CHairman’S Foreword 3 WORKING WITH ART AND ARTISTS The new Tate Britain 9 Exhibitions and displays 11 The collection 16 Caring for the collection 21 Deepening understanding 22 TATE MODERN EXHIBITIONS ART AND ITS IMPACT Working with audiences in the UK 29 Connecting with local communities 34 Audiences around the world 36 Reaching young people 41 Learning programmes in a changing world 42 Digital audiences 47 TATE BRITAIN EXHIBITIONS MAKING IT HAPPEN Working towards Tate’s vision 55 Funding and supporters 56 TATE ST IVES EXHIBITIONS LOOKING AHEAD 65 TATE LIVERPOOL EXHIBITIONS ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS 71 FINANCE AND statistics 91 DONATIONS, GIFTS, LEGACIES AND SPONSORSHIPS 99 3 CHAIRMan’S ForeWorD The Trustees and staff of Tate spent much of last year discussing a mysterious painting called ‘The Fisherman’.
    [Show full text]
  • Patricia Smithen's CV
    Patricia Smithen Curriculum Vitae July 2017 Academic Qualifications: Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK Currently enrolled as a PhD Student, Oct 2015 – Sept 2018 (current date for completion) Collaborative programme with Tate as the Museum Partner, Funded by the AHRC Thesis topic: The Development and Impact of Artist Acrylic Paints in the United Kingdom Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Master in Art Conservation with a Specialty in Paintings Conservation, 1993 University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Honours Bachelor of Arts, Major in Art History and Critical Theory, 1991. Professional Associations and Qualifications: The Institute of Conservation (ICON) Accredited Conservator-Restorer, 2015 Associate Member since 2009. International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) Member Since 2009. British Association of Picture Conservator-Restorers (BAPCR) Associate Member since 2005 Council Member 2008-2010, Co-opted Council Advisor, 2005-2008 British Standards Institute Committee Member, B/560 Conservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage, 2009-2015 Work-based Training Courses Completed: Management Courses: Senior Management Master Classes (2014-15), Working with Autism (2014), Dignity and Respect (2010), Coaching (2008), Tate Manager (2007), Braver Conversations (2006), Management Approaches (2006), Effective Management of Projects (2005). Technical Conservation Courses: Oral History for PhD Students (2015-16), Care of Textiles (2015), COSSH at Tate (2015), Cleaning Acrylic Painted Surfaces: Research into Practice (Getty, 2009), Wolbers Cleaning Workshop (2005), Examination of Paint Cross-Sections (2003), Spectrophotometry Training (2002), Artist Interview Training (2001), Courier Training 2000. Computer Training: Windows 10 (2015), The Museum System (TMS, updated bi-annually) Advanced Searching (2004), Microsoft Project (2003), Photoshop (2003), Intermediate Excel (2002).
    [Show full text]
  • Rothko Restoration: Advancing the Science of Art Conservation
    COATINGS XPERIENCE Rothko Restoration: Advancing the Science of Art Conservation rt conservation scientists and art conservators DEVELOPING SOLVENT SOLUTIONS often possess similar skill sets that include an extensive understanding of analytical “DCM, as part of Dow, is well-positioned to provide methodsA and physical characterization techniques, knowl- support to the art conservation community because the edge of the chemistry of numerous types of art media, company has, in addition to extensive knowledge regard- extreme patience, and a real passion for art. However, how ing acrylic coatings technology, significant expertise with they attain these skills and their backgrounds can vary. In solvent and cleaner chemistries through its industrial the United States, the title “conservation scientist” is not solvents and cleaners businesses. We are leveraging defined by a formal university or licensing regimen; most that combined knowledge and applying it to specific chal- scientists hold degrees in chemistry or related fields. On lenges in the art conservation field,” says Keefe. the other hand, the terminal degree for art conservators is For example, using Dow’s high throughput technol- a Master of Science in art conservation. A recent collabora- ogy, she has developed a robotic system for more rapid tion brought these two disciplines together for the benefit analysis of the cleaning solutions she develops. After of art lovers everywhere. careful consideration of the physical properties of the A once-declared art major turned coatings scientist, cotton swabs typically used by conservators, Keefe used Dr. Melinda Keefe, with support from her employer Dow, a rigid foam and cotton batting to mimic the swabs, and has been fortunate to combine those two interests via attached this device to a robot that then cleaned arti- an ongoing collaboration between Dow Coating Materials ficially soiled dried acrylic paint films.
    [Show full text]
  • Rothko and Architecture
    ROTHKO AND ARCHITECTURE A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Matthew Palczynski August, 2011 Examining Committee Members: Gerald Silk, Advisory Chair, Professor, Department of Art History Therese Dolan, Professor, Department of Art History Marcia B. Hall, Professor, Department of Art History Michael Taylor, The Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art i © Copyright 2011 by Matthew Palczynski ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………….vi 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..1 2. SPACE………………………………………………………………………………..26 3. APPROPRIATING ITALY‘S AGGRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTS………………....49 4. EARLY WORKS……………………………………………………………………..94 5. ROTHKO, MIES, & TRANSCENDENCE …………………………………………131 6. ARCHITECTURAL THEMES IN NEW YORK‘S VANGUARD ART CA. 1955- 65…………………………………………………………………………….....156 7. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………...........178 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………299 iii ABSTRACT The overall goal of this dissertation is to identify and examine the neglected aspects of the literature on Mark Rothko‘s 1958-1959 project to make murals for the Four Seasons restaurant (see Figs. 1-12) in the then-newly opened Seagram Building in Manhattan. These include Rothko‘s attempts to merge the mediums of painting and architecture in order to create an antagonistic environment in the restaurant; how his visits to Italy before and during the project reinforced this goal; how a good deal of the figurative paintings from Rothko‘s earliest career anticipated his blend of aggression and architecturally-related themes; the connection between Rothko and Mies van der Rohe, the architect of the building, in regard to the theme of transcendence; and how his experiments with architectural subjects and motifs aligned Rothko with some of the most influential vanguard artists in New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
    [Show full text]
  • Tate Report 2015–2016
    Cover: The Tate Britain Commission 2016, supported by Sotheby’s, was by Pablo Bronstein. For Historical Dances in an Antique Setting he took inspiration from the neo classical surroundings of the Duveens and Baroque dance to create a continuous live performance. As part of the backdrop, Bronstein recreated the postmodern façade of the Duveen Galleries TATE REPORT 2015/16 TATE’S VISION Tate is a champion of art and its value to society. It believes that an understanding of the visual can enrich all our lives and that artists make a special contribution to the community. Tate therefore has the ambition to make us all aware of the significance of the visual in contemporary life and how artists help us to see and interpret the world. CONTENTS CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD 5 CHAMPIONING ART AND ARTISTS 9 PREPARING FOR THE NEW TATE MODERN 9 EXHIBITIONS AND DISPLAYS 11 THE COLLECTION 14 RESEARCH AND EXPERTISE 18 TATE MODERN EXHIBITIONS 22 WELCOMING BROAD AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES 25 ART FOR ALL 25 REACHING AUDIENCES THROUGH DIGITAL 29 TATE BRITAIN EXHIBITIONS 32 WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP 35 PARTNERSHIPS IN THE UK 35 INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS 37 TATE LIVERPOOL EXHIBITIONS 40 MAKING IT HAPPEN 43 MEMBERS, PATRONS AND INDIVIDUALS 43 SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL COLLECTION 45 OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS 46 TATE ENTERPRISES AND CATERING 47 STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS 48 CAPITAL PROJECTS 48 TATE ST IVES EXHIBITIONS 50 A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF TATE 53 ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS 57 FINANCE AND STATISTICS 77 MEMBERS OF COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES 82 DONATIONS, GIFTS, LEGACIES AND SPONSORSHIPS 84 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD 5 17 June 2016 was a landmark moment for Tate.
    [Show full text]
  • Regionalism (1930-1940) Grant Wood
    Regionalism (1930-1940) Andrew Wyeth- American 1917-2009 Realist Christina's World • His wife was the primary model • Inspired by Anna Olsen ○ Had polio • Realist tempera • Considered a magic realist painting • "was limited physically but by no means spiritually" • Bicycle and leaning ladder in background • “like a crab on a New England seashore” • Fifth floor of MoMa The Helga Pictures • Over 240 paintings of German Helga Testorf • Braided • "Overflow" • "Lovers" Public Sale • One of his first tempera paintings Winter Fields • Dead crow found at Chaddes Ford Flood Plain • Hay, remnants of wagon, icy wheel tracks Winter 1946 • Boy runs down hill that Wyeth's father died on Wind from the Sea • Attic window Trodden Weed • Leather boots Up in the Studio • Curly haired sister looking out window Night Sleeper • Dog sleeping on tan and blue sack Eveining at Kuerners • White farmhouse Young America • Blue and white feather over man riding bike "I paint my life" Grant Wood- American 1891-1942 American Gothic • Sister Nan Wood Graham and dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby modeled • Woman wears cameo brooch • Mother-in-law's tongue • Dibble House in background • Won $300 in Art Institute of Chicago competition Woman with Plants Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, West Branch, Iowa Daughters of Revolution • Protested against for using German glass for a WWI memorial painting • Commissioned to create stained glass window in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum • Satire Parson Weem's Fable • Washington cutting down cherry tree • Father looks cross • Parson holding back
    [Show full text]
  • If You See Something, Say Something: a Look at Experimental Writing on Art
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 If You See Something, Say Something: A Look at Experimental Writing on Art Charlotte Lucy Latham Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/442 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] If You See Something, Say Something: A Look at Experiments in Art Writing By Charlotte Lucy Latham A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Comparative Literature in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 i ©2014 Charlotte Lucy Latham All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Comparative Literature in satisfaction of the Dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr. Wayne Koestenbaum 8/20/2014 Date Chair of Examining Committee Dr. Giancarlo Lombardi 8/20/2014 Date Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Dr. Wayne Koestenbaum Dr. Mary Ann Caws Dr. Andre Aciman THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract If You See Something, Say Something: A Look at Experiments in Art Writing by Charlotte Lucy Latham Adviser: Professor Wayne Koestenbaum Signs all over New York City state, “If you see something, say something,” but museum studies repeatedly find viewers do not attend to pictures, just as eye witness testimony is invariably skewed.
    [Show full text]