Painted Places and Patronage by David NovrosROTHKO CHAPEL, HOUSTON, TEXAS | FEB. 12, 2011
The Rothko Chapel is one of my favorite places to be silent and absorb contemplative emotive work. Dark. Pulsating. Powerful. Spiritual.A second collection of paintings from this era sits at in the Rothko Room at the Tate Modern. Originally commissioned for New York's Four Seasons Restaurant, the paintings became overly dark and moody and Rothko withdrew from the commission and gave them to the Tate. The tale of this adventure fits nicely into Novros' discussion of place, patronage and the oft sterility of museum exhibition and purpose. http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/dec/07/artsfeatures
In a year of death and loss some years ago, while at the opening of Art Basel, I turned a corner at Basel's Kunsthalle and encountered a black Rothko. Its effect on me was stunning and I sat in front of it and wrote a cathartic poem, releasing the guarded emotion of time passing.
Published in an anthology, Strangers To Us All, it is below.
Novros' talk concerns artistic vision, the importance of place intertwined with vision and the benefits of patronage and what that means. Whether the Chapel or the sad discussions presently concerning the Barnes Collection, the relationship between art, its creators and the public/private inspiration is intriguing.That said, the powerful black Rothko's for me elicit response wherever.
