The Nigerian Mvies

The Nigerian Mvies
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Sunday 15 June 2014

Rothko And Basquiat Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Rothko paintings are abstract expressionist pieces, well known for their images featuring large and luminous color blocks. Mark Rothko is most well known for the forms, figures and great color creation he delivered in the many paintings he created.

An orientation towards social themes with expressionist and surrealist undertones was characteristic of the first expressionistic Rothko paintings. The influence of Max Weber was reflected in the subjects Mark chose for his paintings. Max provided Mark with first hand knowledge and enthusiasm for European modernism. Marc Chagall was another artist who had a great influence on Mark's art work.

The urban scenes and landscapes were often focal points for Rothko paintings. Figurative works were also part and parcel of these creations. Showcasing an expressive side to the art of Mark was his rough application of paint, a technique would later be the distinctive style for which he would become most known for during the course of his artistic career.

It is an often intricate and complex journey through a maze of references that Basquiat paintings are known for. This journey often times made little rational sense, but nonetheless, fell appear to have a reason for existence. Basquiat paintings are mesmerizing, dense and full as their subjects range from the inner city kids' game called skellys to Sugar Ray Robinson, Miles Davis and Da Vinci.

Taking primacy in Basquiat paintings are actual words, etched in scrawl. Colliding with iconic images of crowns and skulls, they are considered perfectly placed streams of consciousness. A patron can get lost in this collision for hours on end. They prove to be a bit less dark than some of the later works of the artist.

Patrons are taken into the mind of a prodigal genius with flashes of an early style, just by looking at Basquiat paintings. The ubiquitous trademark crown, the black background and mirrored images, boxers and skulls are ominous in these works. The key to all of Basquiat's works, numbering to more than 2,000 from the ages of 19 to 27 are found in his early drawings.




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