Mark Rothko and his political tendencies...

In the spring of 1968, Rothko was diagnosed with a mild aortic aneurysm but that never stopped him, he just continued drinking and smoking. Continued painting and producing enormous quantities of art work. A son of intellectual Russian refugees  from Russia, he was well educated and had very progressive ideas about function of art. He would often joke with other proper artists about their "business". New play in New York called Red is something that explains Rothkos life story. Rothko is played by Alfred Molina british actor known in a movie Frida as an overweight husband, Diego Rivera. The play is created around rather simbolical red panels of color divinity, most of these are owned by the National Gallery. His series of colour red are almost religous explorations of his minimalistic aproach toward painting and art. His earlier works explored medical microscopic images, but somehow I think his progressive thinking through arts and knowledge of historical significance of large scale painting and political ideologies that needed to represented in abstract art. Anyway I think with his Russian and jewish intelectual upbringing he had to show progressive political and advancement of his painting comrades. And his later work with his church is emotional and spiritual journey he lived and painted to his dying day.

 So needless to say I highly recommend this play even though I have never gone into abstraction mainly because my reality is quite harsh and affects me daily.