PINK ART (Matisse, O’Keeffe, Rothko -Part 4)

Posted on by Prior...

The Where’s my Backpack word this week is PINK.  And while I like pink for a few things, it is a color I hardly ever wear.  Also, because I am “flowered out” this week, I thought I would highlight some ART work for this pink topic.  And to do this, I went back to the 3 artists I featured last month: Matisse, O’Keeffe, and Rothko.

MATISSE:

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As most know, Henri Matisse was a French artist who did mixed media, but he is really well known for his colorful paintings.  Early on he was referred to as a fauvist (for wild beast-like color) and then was noted as more of classical French painter.  However, as he matured, he was noted for having a modernist art style all of his own.  “Matisse creates an art all his own: it has different rules and different purposes from anyone else’s. Later modernists tried to learn this from him.”   Matisse often used NO light source and ended up with designs while he attempted “divisionistic” techniques.

O’KEEFFE:

Georgia O’Keeffe is also noted for her paintings, and while her beautiful flowers usually come to mind first, she also has landscapes and abtracts that are nice – and also in pink. The pieces I have featured in her collage (below) are two abstracts (one early, 1916 –  and one late, 1970) and a representational piece, Red Hills, Lake George, 1927.

pink art by o-keeffe_priorhouse

Interestingly, O’Keeffe was moving AWAY from abstract during the mid-1920s (and was aiming to do more realistic painting so her work would be less open for interpretation, which did not really work).  Around the time that O’Keeffe was moving away from it, Rothko was moving towards abstract!

ROTHKO:

Pink art by rothko_priorhouse

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Rothko was a representational painter for many years (about 17) because it was an “inherited” style that he was taught.  Rothko’s art teacher was Max Weber, who was a student of Henri Matisse (and Rousseau).  However, eventually Rothko became known as an abstract expressionistic artist who believed that spiritual and emotional aspects underpinned all art.  He is also known for his large and contemplative pieces that have “fugue-like” arrangement (more here).

Well I think Rothko’s White Center painting (above) looks like a slice of layered cake.  And as with most art, I assume that Rothko’s work NEEDS to be seen in person to enjoy more, and someday I would like to see this piece up close, which now resides with its new owner in Qatar.

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Happy Sunday to you.

priorhouseblog/2014

 

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28 thoughts on “PINK ART (Matisse, O’Keeffe, Rothko -Part 4)”

    1. Thanks for taking the time to comment – and I was stuck – I could NOT do another flower picture – and pinkish sunsets and sunrises were everywhere too…. 🙂
      Hope you have a great rest of your weekend.

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  2. Nice take on the challenge, I’m not sure I have anything for this week. O’Keeffe is my favorite. I think my next Photoshop project will be inspired by her work, I should know within the next week or so…

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    1. and well – we can’t do all the challenges – now can we? If I had more time – there 3 more I wanted to do this week – and I especially wanted to do Jake’s sunday post – but I will do the new one for this week.

      anyhow, I am looking forward to your next Photoshop project. 🙂

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      1. I’m looking forward to it too, I just picked up the cow skull I’ll be using yesterday 🙂
        You are right about the challenges, I figure I could make a full time job out of them.

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    1. Thanks for the visit – and I just checked out your entry – love the pink door/shutters and so much of the whole shot.

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  6. I was never aware that O’Keefe also did landscapes. Thank you. I like what you shared of her work.

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    1. well Emilio – I was surprised to see her early – and then later – abstracts!

      and I think you may end up enjoying a lot more of her work because with all your Nevada photos (and your desert takes) well O’Keeffe’s landscapes are stunning”

      “her ability to capture the essence of the natural beauty of northern New Mexico desert, its vast skies, richly colored landscape configurations and unusual architectural forms, has identified the area as “O’Keeffe Country”

      – and she often used bones as a subject too (http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/art–exhibitions.html) because she would go off to explore and I think she even said one time that she thought the blue sky looked different – THROUGH – a dried up animal bone.

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  8. Interesting interpretation of the theme, Y. I saw a very good play about Rothko in Dunedin, New Zealand, a couple of years ago. Red. I think it was a big hit on Broadway before it ever got to NZ. It was challenging to watch but good at the same time and made me think more about his paintings.I’m familiar with Matiisse, too, having seen some of his works at exhibitions. But I’ve never heard of O’Keefe before. I enjoyed looking at the reproductions you have provided here. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get to see some of her work as well. It’s interesting to know that as Rothko moved towards the abstract she moved away from it. Thanks for the insights.

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    1. Thanks so much Jill- and that tidbit is from Anna Chave’s 1980’s book, Mark Rothko: Subjects in Abstraction, Chapter 2.

      and glad I was able to be the one to introduce you to O’Keeffe (***what an honor***) – 🙂
      one of my favorites of hers is – surprisingly too – is “radiator building, night- 1927

      http://www.wikipaintings.org/de/georgia-o-keeffe/radiator-building

      and while I love her paintings of flowers and the mood of her new mexico works – this Radiator Building one was one of the first of hers I encountered and remains a fav….

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      1. I’ll look out for more of her works! Sadly the link doesn’t work for me – I got a message saying I can’t access it due to copyright laws in my country. I sometimes have the same problem with accessing particular books for my kindle.
        I’ll Google search her, though.

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  9. What a great choice for this challenge! As I scrolled through your images I was smiling because you hit many of my favorite artists and paintings. 🙂 You’re right in thinking Rothko’s work needs to be seen in person to fully appreciate it. The colors are fantastic in any size but viewing the enormous finished sizes that fill your field of vision is wonderful.

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    1. Thanks – and I like how you worded this – and I have seen a couple of Rothko paintings in person (one was Untitled, 1949 – which is in DC at the NGA) but to be honest, I get overwhelmed when I see too much art in one day – and so one day I’d like to sit in one of those rooms that houses a few of his works.
      🙂
      thanks for the visit.

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  10. what a great post and equally-great angle for the challenge! thanks for a great immersion in art. this week’s timeout for art will feature a quote from o’keeffe. my favorite painting has always been the lawrence tree, because i am easily transported to the same moment and am gaping up at the sky with her!

    with slow internet, most pages don’t load correctly, and i’m typing into a sliver of a reply box, and i hope that what i’ve typed makes sense.. at least this part loaded – usually it doesn’t!

    it’s my loss that i’ve not been seeing your posts, and i hope that one day i’ll have faster internet at my home!

    z sigh; the ‘post comment’ resulted in a blank dead end, but the back button brought me back – and to the correct comment box!! with the slow internet, unless the page loads properly, usually the comment and like functions are worthless.

    i’m trying a second time! z

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    1. Hi z – well this was so nice to read! ****warm art heart*** – and I feel the same about finding your blog – looking forward to peeking in each week – and I also enjoyed your post about the slow internet – was well written. 🙂
      and I will be on the lookout for the o’keeffe quote….
      have a nice day.
      ~y.

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    1. Thanks Vass – and I appreciate your other comments about Rothko – and plan to use them in an up and coming post on what has become my “trio of artists…” MOR – matisse, okeeffe, rothko… never planned it – but how fun to have these posts unfold with these three…

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