The View Of Mark Rothko From The Oriental Aesthetic

Mark Rothko (1903-1970)， one of the New York school’s leadership painters， was an Americanabstract expressionist painter and now is recognized as one of the most influential artists in the20th century.Rothko always created his works for the purpose of exploring human’s emotion and the meaning of life.From the subject of early surrealist mythto the late60’s, pictures were composed of two or three dark grayabstract rectangular patches, from the bright red and yellow colors to the heavy black, gloomy purple andmysterious navy blue etc.,.Rothko always presented his works to the audiences by the giant format withoutthe modified outside and mustered the audiences’ emotions into the works by expressing the images. Heproduced imagination to reach a kind of spiritual experience from a limited individual spirit to theunlimited consciousness. Rothko interpreted the expression of one’s inner spirit through the limited colorsand extremely compact shapes. The frame symbolizes the state of the existence of all things. Orientalaesthetic regards the "nature and humanity, I left two" as the highest realm. On the philosophy of art,Rothko aimed to make the viewers get into his art world through the specific exhibition space as theparticipants. Rothko made the viewers experience a kind of infinite spiritual space through the limitedartistic expression so as to arouse the audience’s basic emotion and spiritual liberation. Eventually, theviewer would merge into the works to the situation of meditation. Rothko’s paintings and art philosophyexpression can make us discuss and reflect the most essential questions on modern art and artists.In the contemporary, a large number of images are replicated by mechanical and electronic technology.Due to the emergence of a large number of copies of art works, the images’ art value gradually becomes akind of entertainment and possession, losing the essence of art. Today’s works of art can be presented to thepublic by the network, brochures, magazines and other convenient ways. The art works copied bytechnologies are only a surface image and can’t give the viewer complete spiritual experience. Thisconvenient way of viewing reduces the space distance between the viewer and works of art, providespeople with the solace of mind and satisfies people’s spiritual emptiness for material life through theappreciation of beauty. For the absence of art works, the viewers can’t be blended as participants. It can’tmake the viewers feel the works which convey the spiritual connotation. So the viewers’ absence makes the value of art works devalued, and makes the meaning of exhibition reduced greatly. Rothko emphasized theworks’ exhibition space and hoped to reflect his works by the ideal way. He also wanted the viewer toabandon all reality by specific physical space utility, immersed people in a peaceful world, and aroused thepeople’s deepest and truest soul and produced emotional communication with the works directly andadequately.The people who live in the age of images gradually feel aesthetic fatigue, and reduce theworship of art works. So the uniqueness of the art works fades away. So many artists also lose the intent ofthe arts. They get rich quickly and make some new shallow characteristics into their works to get in returnand cater to the public’s interest. So they are hard to focus on personal inner spiritual pursuit and then theyignore the soul and the essence of art. Art, artists and aesthetic public gradually lose the reality and life’sexperience.This paper is divided into six parts including introduction, the formation of Rothko’s painting style,the language features of Rothko’s painting art, Rothko’s painting art in the concept of Oriental temperament,the enlightenment of Rothko’s art spirit for modern art, and conclusion. The first chapter includes threepoints. Firstly, this thesis introduces the differences between the characteristics of modern art under the ageof mechanical reproduction and Rothko’s art sense. Then it combines Rothko’s background andenvironment. At last, it considers Rothko’s personal factors. Through the study of these three points, itmakes us understand the cause of the formation of Rothko’s painting language. The second chapteranalyses Rothko’s painting language and related art works. The "the pictures out of pictures" of earlypainting language and "five colors about ink" have effect on Rothko’s emotional expression. It alsocombines Chinese ink painting’s "lively" and fully reflects the ink painting between the breath of Rothko’simages and the temperament of Chinese ink painting. The third chapter analyzes the artistic spirit of Rothkoand interpretation by the Oriental aesthetic, which finds the mental state of "the unity of nature andhumanity" in Oriental philosophy. It reveals the consistency and comparability conveyed by the subtlerelationship between Rothko’s works and the viewers. It researches the Rothko’s painting language and the"the unity of nature and humanity" under the aesthetic category of Chinese aesthetics, and questions theartists and aesthetic public under the age of mechanical reproduction. In the fourth chapter, it regardsWalter Benjamin’s (1892-1940)"light passing" as a starting point, and explains the problems faced withmodern art and modern artists, and emphasizes space communication directly between the aesthetic of the mass and the art works. Finally it sums up the characteristics of the Rothko’s painting language andOriental temperament of art philosophy to intense modern artists and scholars.Rothko’s painting makes us deeply feel the importance of art which touches the depths of the soul. Itwill be regretful if the development of science and technology conceal the precious art works. I hope thatthis article will be helpful to the contemporary art, artists, and aesthetic mass. At the same time, I will referand reflect on my way to the future creation.