Over at Althouse several of the comments have pointed out that it is difficult to ruin a Rothko painting because it never had any artistry to begin with. (I summarize.)
It is hard to contradict them. From an artistic viewpoint, this is no worse than the tagging on an alley wall.
Probably the painting's dollar value was nothing more than a counter in the "what can I invest in" game played by the ultra-rich. But a lot of sheep have persuaded themselves that the painting was wonderful, and he was trying to slime what they valued--not to demolish idols and save souls (or at least the soul of the art world), but to make himself look important. I don't know what he thinks in his heart of hearts; I only know what he is reported to have said.
I think I could face a major collapse in art prices with equanimity.(*) I have my own "Rothko" in the garage where I wipe the paint out of brushes before soaking them. But this fellow is vile. Maybe he is crazy too. It is possible to be both.
(*)Our holdings are quite small and represent things in the heavens above or the earth below or the waters under the earth. Or dragons painted by EldestDaughter.
A great deal of art since 1900 is about "starting conversations," and tearing down values that bourgeois minds thought were solid.
ReplyDeleteLooked at from that perspective it has been highly successful and great art, representing its age well. If life, beauty, history, and virtue have no meaning, then their art is extremely expressive of that. If all that can be gained from any such effort is the entertainment of talking insider talk with your friends and irritating the others, if meaning is only accidental or self-defined, then what they portray is done well.
The difficulty comes in that those who still believe some values are real are offended by the bald statements that they are not. We are not bothered because we don't understand, but because we do understand what they are driving at.
I, too, probably could weather a collapse in fine arts prices without fear of increasing the cat-food component of my future diet. But I don't care much for people who have to smear themselves on the creations of others in order to feel big.
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