Untitled 1968

Editor: This is an "Untitled" oil painting by Mark Rothko, created in 1968. I'm immediately drawn to the materiality, those layers and the visible brushstrokes give a certain depth to these otherwise simple shapes. What are your initial thoughts when you look at it? Curator: I find it fruitful to examine the economic and social factors involved in the creation and reception of a work like this. Consider the materials themselves: oil paint, canvas. These weren't always readily available or affordable. Who had access to them in 1968? And how does that access shape the artistic landscape? Editor: That's an interesting perspective. I tend to focus more on the pure aesthetics. Are you saying that our understanding is affected by the access to and availability of the materials? Curator: Absolutely. Rothko’s choice of oil, for instance, situates him within a lineage of Western painting dominated by a particular class structure. The very act of applying pigment to canvas, in the way that he does, can be seen as a comment on – or a perpetuation of – that history. And look at the scale of some of his works, and the labour involved in applying layer upon layer to build up such a surface texture. The value that the art world places on painting is intimately connected with the time and skill it requires to create paintings. Editor: So, by focusing on materials and production, you’re seeing this as less of a purely expressive gesture and more as a… product of specific economic conditions? Curator: Precisely! To truly appreciate Rothko, we need to think about the labour involved, the resources consumed, and the systems that made its existence possible. It challenges the common notion of Rothko being primarily about the emotional or the spiritual, it grounds his art in material reality. Editor: I see what you mean. I hadn’t really considered the economic side before, and I am now intrigued about considering the implications behind art's means of production. Thanks for this illuminating view! Curator: It highlights the ways art objects become embedded in material processes of consumption and value, that in turn contribute to the object's value in social discourse.