Shown is Mark Rothko’s painting titled “White Center,” 1950. Image provided.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

WARSAW — In our journey through the Art in America series, we are traversing the impact of art from the 1900s to current day. The European masters were and are still coveted; however, America, can tout a fair share of amazing and innovative artists. This week’s artist falls into the innovative category.

Mark Rothko was born in 1903 as Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (name legally changed in 1959) in a Jewish community of Latvia, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Rothko’s family fled Russia for the United States when Rothko was only 10. Sadly, shortly upon arrival to immigrate at Ellis Island, his father became ill and passed away, leaving the family in financial ruin. His sudden death deeply disturbed young Rothko, and his father’s adamant anti-religious stance would stay with Rothko his entire life.

Rothko quickly picked up the English language and advanced in his studies, eventually landing a scholarship to the coveted Yale University. Unfortunately, he never completed his scholarship. Coming from extreme poverty, Rothko was not able to comfortably make the bridge into the upper echelons of society, finding the teachers, students and community to be elitist. Fortunately, 47 years later, he was able to accept an honorary degree from Yale and finally cross that bridge.

While Rothko remained connected to the Jewish community, his spirituality rested mainly on Greek mythology. Additionally, like Jackson Pollock, he observed Jungian practices of trying to seek the subconscience while painting and envisioning his work. Also similar to Pollock, Rothko eventually stopped naming his paintings and referred to them by number only.

But Rothko was very unique at being the pioneer of the “color field” blocked paintings: a method using large, overwhelming, unframed canvases, painted in layers of oil paint, in large blocks of solid color and devoid of images. He was extremely secretive about his paint mixes but recent scientific testing of his paint revealed traces of formaldehyde and egg. Rothko’s intention when painting was to elicit an emotional response from the viewer when they saw the large colored “images.”

While color theory arrived on the scene shockingly early by Aristotle (all color derives from mixes of black and white), the idea of “after images” contrived while viewing layered colors was a moderately new concept, at the time, discovered by French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul. This technique can be naturally observed in Rothko’s works. For example, when staring at a blue block of color and then a yellow block of color, the mind/eye might believe it also sees green. Color harmony and color symbolism are concepts Rothko leaned upon while determining the colors and placements in his paintings; however, he was adamant that emotional response to the painting was paramount. He also relied heavily on Jung’s theories about the psychology of color. There were significant studies in the mid-1940s evidencing the use of color and motor skills that affected Rothko’s paint choices.

Rothko’s abstract expressionism came during the onset of the cold war (1947-1991) and was symbolic of American values: freedom of expression and individuality. This directly contrasted with the strict state control dictated by Soviet potentates, which Rothko experienced when young.

Unfortunately, a long life of drug and alcohol use led Rothko to commit suicide when he was only 66 years old in 1970. Three months later, his second ex-wife, who had divorced him only a year prior to his death, was also found dead at only 48 years of age, allegedly of the same plight. While Rothko’s demise was tragic, his impact on art continues, and his paintings remain highly collectible internationally.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author. DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. Send an email to the mother/daughter team at either [email protected] or [email protected].

Shown is Mark Rothko’s painting known as “Untitled,” 1949. Image provided.