Sketch of Rocks(?) 

Mark Rothko made this pen and ink sketch of rocks, small in scale, on paper. It might be easy to dismiss this as simply a study, but Rothko's journey through the art world challenges that view. Think back to the mid-20th century in America, Rothko searching for a mode of expression, amidst the rise of abstract expressionism, a movement deeply entwined with the Cold War cultural politics. This drawing invites us to consider the artist's early formal explorations. Made before his signature blocks of color, the rocks suggest a search for basic forms. Perhaps, Rothko was stripping away the extraneous to reveal the underlying structure of existence itself, which was a preoccupation of post-war art. What was the role of art in times of social alienation? Was it to express the depths of the human condition, through a total abstraction? Historians piece together such questions from archives of letters, exhibition catalogues and critical reviews. Appreciating art means seeing it embedded in society.