rothko redux

I almost didn't go to see the "In the Tower: Mark Rothko" display at the National Gallery of Art (east building). I am an ardent lover of his work; particularly his color block pieces. I love the rich, layered colors and the emotions that they elicit. Particularly, he captures emotions that I have no words for. And that is why I love his work.

So when I discovered that I'd be able to catch a special display of his work, I was ecstatic. Until I discovered that the featured works on display were the series of black (depressing black!) paintings originally created for a Catholic chapel in Houston.

I teetered back and forth about taking the time and making the effort to visit the exhibit until I read that these paintings are seldom displayed.

I went.

And I just sat on the various benches and let myself soak in, or more accurately, be soaked in. Because these paintings, they draw you in. You look at them and forget where you are and what you were thinking about 10 seconds ago. They open up and they swallow you in.


It was remarkable, worth the effort, the energy, the time. I shiver a bit when I think how close I came to blowing off this opportunity.

I didn't take any pictures because there was no point. With his color paintings a photograph is enough to recall the feeling of standing in front of one of his behemoth paintings. At this exhibit, the subtle variations of black, ebony black, midnight black, deep brown, charcoal gray - there would be no way to capture those subtleties. I knew better.

The program asks viewers to "question the simple equation of darkness and despair and to re-imagine blackness as a medium of light - nuanced, expansive, and even hopeful." Go ahead. You have until January 2011.

(P.S. They have some of his swoony color block paintings on the concourse level!)