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  \ /   "ART REVIEW - The Works of Mark Rofko"    `.              ,  \ \ /  |
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  /                  by Funnigerl5                (            ; mEoW!@/|   '
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        In the paintings of Mark Rofko, color is but a shallow demeanor of
 the darker emotional ambiguities  of his inner turmoils.  Rofko's lines are 
 parallel; his rectangles are complete in themselves, for they contain the 
 solidity of the most sublime of forms.  His circles, oddly enough, are not 
 round, yet hint at the assurance of roundness to come.  The effect is 
 masterful. 

        Rofko's work is slightly superior without seeming arrogant.  During
 his life, Rofko tried to bring to his art a pungency of flavor imbued with 
 obelisk overtones which was accentuated by his strong, vibrant brushwork.   
 His colors are usually light.  Even Rofko's darkest works contain a 
 luminosity reminiscent of the surrealistic glow of Chernobyl's cows at
 night.  His murals further prove Rofko's illustrious manipulation of spatial
 perception.  Their intensity is surpassed only by the scathing clarity of 
 their raw dimensions.  And Rofko's utilization of implied tension is at a 
 zenith.  The interplay of divergent entities, as evidenced particularly in 
 his murals, create a life force unleased with a furor so great it could only 
 be quashed with a can of industrial-strength Raid. 

        Yet the delicacy of his expression, most evidenced in his later
 works, leads one to believe that he attempts to relay a subtle message to
 the viewer without appearing obvious or overly affected.  This becomes more
 apparent with each subsequent viewing of Rofko's work.  He deftly employs a
 rigid delineation of content while incorporating diaphanous textures in a
 mired yet neatly relegated space.  His larger canvasses depict an obsession
 with the absolute, a sense of oneness with themselves that verifies their
 own very existence.  Largely gaseous, Rofko manages to bring to his art a
 workable anti-flatulent.  He emphasizes harmonious tones with conflicting
 backgrounds by synthesizing different aspects of lines and angles.  Dark
 shades, writhing lines, distorted forms, twisted bodies and tormented
 features characterize his happier works. 

        Rofko's perspective on life seemed to grow more optimistic as he grew
 older, as evidenced by subtle changes in his art.  The mood in his later 
 canvasses is light and genial despite implications of impending doom.  In
 any event, the worl was shocked when Rofko committed suicide in 1970.  Why
 would such a renowned genius, at the peak of his creativity, want to end his
 life?  His suicide note, found next to an unfinished canvas, indicated that
 in addition to advancing age, mounting debts, a wacky misunderstanding with
 his landlord causing him to lose his apartment, and other personal problems,
 Rofko was most acutely fed up with his own gnawing inability to comprehend 
 art critic's reviews of his work. 

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 `-.^.-' (c) 2001 Anada e'zine                          by Funnigerl5 `-.^.-'
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