Dave my partner is off work today, because of Eid a Muslim holiday. He's a teacher at a school with a high percentage of muslim children. We are going to see a new exhibition at the Tate Modern of Rothko "the late series", Dave had been to the previous exhibition at the Tate Britain in 1987 and been a big fan ever since.
I woke up after not feeling well, my face is covered in a rash and feels like sand paper. I have a cold sore from Hell and to top it of, a crick neck. I feel like shit and want to curl up in bed and die. Despite feeling sorry for myself, I do get up and we make it to the exhibition. We walk into the first room , I look around see some small sketch book paintings and feel unimpressed, Partly due to not feeling well and partly due to not connecting with the work. There is a panel with writing on, which I do try and read, but quickly become aware that nothing has sunk in, each word I read has no meaning because I cannot remember anything that I have read before. This is a common scenario that I link to being dyslexic. I feel frustrated and fed up. I stop noticing the paintings until I come to a room that has a crowd of people to my left. I cannot even get a glimpse at what they are looking at, so give up there is a painting to my right that has a few people looking at it, I then notice a grey arrow on the wall, To the right of the painting the wall with the arrow on is set back from the wall with the painting on. There seems to be an opening , so you can go behind the painting. At that moment a lady walks from behind .
There is a panel cut out of the wall which has a glass viewing window, so you can see the back of the picture, where the canvass has been stretched on to the wooden frame, there is a baton going vertical down the centre of the painting, with three batons going horizontal, this is obviously to give the frame support. There is a signature ' Mark Rothko' .
I wonder what Rothko himself would have thought of the way the back was exposed. Would he has approved?
No comments:
Post a Comment