Look at the painting above. If I told you that this piece is worth more than 10 million USD, how would you react? Most laypeople would react negatively, saying something like “Come on, I could make a painting like that!”
Meaningful Rectangles
Mark Rothko is one of the many successful artists who create pieces like the one above that many museum-goers love to hate. He emerged as an artist in the mid-1920s and continued to paint until his death in 1970. This particular piece, Rothko said in an interview after his aortic aneurysm in 1968, simply represents death. He painted layer upon layer of gray paint, giving the piece a washed out, imperfect effect. Much of his earlier work was not as abstract, but after WWII/during the Cold War he started to make paintings like the one above.
While they don’t seem like it, the incredibly abstract paintings that were produced later in his career are very rich in meaning. They mostly relate to the wars mentioned prior, the different colors representing different aspects of those conflicts. Basically, though, abstract art like his has more to it than meets the eye.
Meaningful Splatter Paint
Another super famous abstract artist was Jackson Pollock. He created art around the same time as Mark Rothko, and used similar themes involving World War II and the conflicts between the US and USSR. Some even believe that Rothko’s and Pollock’s work, along with other Abstract Expressionistic art in that time, was used/funded by the CIA as Cold War propaganda or weaponry.
Meaningful Lines
The last artist I’m going to discuss from this same period is Franz Kline, who was from Wilkes-Barre, PA!! While he was involved in the abstract expressionism movement in New York, just like Rothko and Pollock, his art was not really about wars and more about his own life. He depicted landscapes and movement, and was inspired by things like Japanese calligraphy. He actually refused to attribute hidden meaning to his work, which is much different from other artists in that time period. But at first glance his artwork kind of looks like scribbles. It’s only when you understand his purpose that you can appreciate the art more fully.
Meaningful Cheese?
While I certainly appreciate the meaning that modern and abstract artists may want to portray in their art, like with the ones above, sometimes it definitely gets a little ridiculous.
For example, I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2014 and there was an exhibition by an artist named Robert Gober. Some of his artwork was kind of cool, like this installation of sinks on forest wallpaper:
But then there was also artwork like this sculpture:
This was made from beeswax and Gober’s own hair and honestly, it freaked me out a little bit. I did some research on his exhibition at MoMA in general, and understood that it was supposed to evoke feelings of comfort and homeliness, which I didn’t really feel. I respect this artist, but personally I just can’t get on board with some of his work, and that’s true for a lot of people when they’re looking at really abstract artwork.
The point of all of this was that it’s okay to not be able to appreciate some art. I can’t appreciate Gober’s sculpture, and I think that’s alright because I took the effort to research it and understand what he was trying to portray. People undermine the artists when they reject artwork but don’t know anything about it. At least learn about it before rejecting it.
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Yeah that is rather strange (especially the cheese). Also I do think that $10 Million is quite ridiculous to pay for what is frankly some gray paint on half of a canvas.
It’s unfortunate that people jump to disliking art without understanding it. Of course, some of those paintings do seem like there is no sense behind them, but once you look in to the reasoning behind its creation, it seems to develop meaning. I definitely agree that attempting to learn and understand is very important when it comes to art, even if the end result is that you really cannot appreciate the piece as the artist wanted.
The cheese/hair freaks me out too, and I’m not sure I get it (or appreciate it.) That being said, call me crazy, but as someone who knows very little about art, I’m still really drawn to Rothko’s work! I love your blog and am kind of disappointed I didn’t discover it until a couple weeks ago.
I had the same reaction you mentioned earlier about abstract art. I never understood its value or why it was lauded so much for what is seemingly so simple. I like how you provided two perspectives and will keep in mind your statement to learn before I reject!
I really like where you went with this. I think it’s a really important topic to discuss because all too quickly modern artists are viewed as un-skill. when in reality their paintings took a lot of time and effort. But I completely agree with your opinion of the cheese. I did not feel homey or comforted. Having said that, I can appreciate the skill that I guess had to go into that sculpture. Overall though I really like your topic and blog.