Reflections on the Spiritual in Rothko
- Submitting institution
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The University of Huddersfield
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 47
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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10.1163/15685292-02003003
- Title of journal
- Religion and the Arts
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 315
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 3
- ISSN
- 1079-9265
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- January
- Year of publication
- 2016
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Much has been made of the metaphysical aspects of Mark Rothko’s abstract art especially his classic works of the 1950s. But his earlier work (inspired by Christian symbols and Greek mythology) has rarely been examined in terms of how it aided the development of his spiritual ideas of later work. The article addresses the spiritual aspects of other periods of his life and argues for the coexistence of these different strands. The research process that produced the insights shared in this article combined interpretations of Rothko’s own account and remarks, received scholarship, and sensitive first-hand responses to the works themselves. The latter stresses the importance of actually being in front of the work and allowing for the experience of contemplation.
Recent commentary has argued for the Jewishness of his art, and while the recovery of the Jewish Rothko is a well-needed addition to scholarship, this should be positioned in a more inclusive understanding of spirituality that combines spiritual and aesthetic traditions. Examining his earlier work uncovers his ongoing preoccupation with mythology which began in the 1940s and developed through ensuing decades. Arguing for a holistic account of the spirituality in Rothko’s work creates a more comprehensive understanding; one which revises previous perspectives as well as a fuller picture of Rothko’s identity as an artist, which allows the subject of Jewishness to emerge. The article is positioned as a corrective to misreadings of Rothko’s shift to abstraction.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -