{"id":823,"date":"2012-02-04T12:43:50","date_gmt":"2012-02-04T20:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=823"},"modified":"2016-10-14T16:54:05","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T23:54:05","slug":"what-is-it-about-the-troubled-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/writing\/what-is-it-about-the-troubled-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is It About The Troubled Artist?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mark Rothko<\/p><\/div>\n

A few days ago, I went to see the play, RED<\/a>, written by John Logan<\/a>. A winner of six Tony awards in 2010, RED tells the story of Mark Rothko<\/a>, abstract expressionist painter and contemporary of Jackson Pollock<\/a>, during the time he got a commission<\/a> to do a group of murals for the Four Season restaurant in New York. The play\u2019s appeal comes from the way the playwright portrayed the troubled artist. Mark Rothko\u2019s genius is highlighted, but so is his massive ego and his insecurity. All are revealed over the course of a two year relationship with a young artist, who serves as his apprentice in this story.<\/p>\n

As a writer, I don\u2019t profess to have Rothko\u2019s genius, but I do have his insecurities, and perhaps enough ego to continue to battle the obstacles in my way. Every artist\u2014whether they are actors, dancers, singers, painters, sculptors or writers\u2014fights this battle to get noticed. For any\u00a0 artist, there isn\u2019t an exact science to follow, even though there are techniques that need to be mastered in each discipline. \u00a0Once those are learned, the artist can fly, soar with the best.\u00a0 But the expression of the artist\u2019s soul is so individual that it can\u2019t escape judgement. What appeals to one body does not appeal to another. How many times have we read of books that have been rejected and then later applauded? How many art works have been condemned for their poor composition or use of colour and then later valued for their innovative approach? One only has to read about the Impressionists and how they had to battle the critics<\/a> in the salons of Paris to understand the creative dilemma.<\/p>\n

How does the artist know then when they are wasting their time pursuing their art? The question and the answer is as old as time.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to the artist to decide when enough is enough. Some keep spinning their wheels, some adapt, and others move on. In Mark Rothko\u2019s case, he chose suicide. He couldn\u2019t stomach the kind of response he got later on in his life. He couldn\u2019t accept the changing public opinion. He had his own, and that didn\u2019t jive with what he heard and what he read about his art. He also did not accept the artists who followed him and had their own style.\u00a0 He had forgotten that he had once broken the rules and had dared to go where others hadn\u2019t. At one point in the play\u2014when Rothko complains about the diners (in the Four Seasons Restaurant) who focus on their dinners instead of admiring his art\u2014the apprentice says to the troubled artist, \u201cIt\u2019s just a painting.\u201d\u00a0 This young artist could just as easily say to writers who sweat over their material, \u201cit\u2019s just a book.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more on this play, playwright John Logan offers his thoughts on Mark Rothko and his play RED.<\/p>\n