Untitled [verso] 1945 - 1946

Editor: This is "Untitled [verso]," a drawing done in ink and colored pencil by Mark Rothko between 1945 and 1946. The composition is striking with a prominent circular form, and two red bars at the bottom, the surface has this lovely textured quality. How do you interpret this work, especially in relation to the materials used? Curator: What’s compelling here is Rothko's apparent willingness to expose the process. Look at the rough quality of the ink, how the layers build up. It's as though we are seeing the very act of creation, the labor involved in constructing the image. The use of common materials like ink and coloured pencil blurs any line between fine art and the everyday acts of mark-making. Editor: I see what you mean, the process is very exposed! Do you think that relates to its time of creation, the mid-1940s? Curator: Precisely! Consider the socio-economic context: post-war austerity would influence resourcefulness in artistic practices. Materials at hand shape the means of expression. Rothko wasn't aiming for some refined aesthetic but exploring the inherent qualities of modest materials to communicate deeper human feelings. Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn’t considered the post-war impact on artistic materials and processes like that. So, the 'unfinished' quality… Curator: It subverts expectations of completion! Instead, Rothko emphasises the conditions of production and its relationship to human labor in that specific historical setting. This invites us to rethink artistic value beyond aesthetics and recognize it within production processes and materiality itself. Editor: Thank you, this makes me look at the drawing as almost documenting an activity rather than just an image. Curator: Indeed, a record of making and thinking, rather than merely depicting. A conscious act of working.