pdf 1 - exhibitions international

BeyonD pessimism:
roThko’s nieTzschean QuesT,
1940–49
Bradford r. Collins
It was many years ago that I encountered ... The Birth of Tragedy of Nietzsche. It left
an indelible impression on my mind and has forever colored the syntax of my own
reflections on the questions of art. 1
—Mark rothko
There is the danger that in the course of this correspondence an instrument will be
created which will tell the public how the pictures should be looked at and what to
look for. While on the surface this may seem an obliging and helpful thing to do,
the real result is the paralysis of the mind and the imagination. (And for the artist a
premature entombment.) Hence my abhorrence for forewords and explanatory data.
And if I must place my trust somewhere, I would invest it in the psyche of the sensitive
observers who are free of the conventions of understanding. 2
—Mark rothko
Mark rothko woulD Not have approveD of the explanatory guide to his paintings of the 1940s that
you are about to read. Throughout his career Rothko regularly insisted that no such explanations
were necessary, that his works clearly communicated with the “sensitive” observer. In
most of these instances, however, his assertion was in response to evidence to the contrary, to
someone who badly misunderstood what he believed he was communicating. During the last
46 the Decisive DecaDe chapter 47
Rothko 2nd pages for color.indd 46-47 3/2/12 5:21 PM