How to hang thick bands?
ARTinvestment.RU   13 ноября 2008

Two paintings by Rothko, exhibited at Tate Modern Gallery, exhibited no way like the artist

the Work of a famous artist Mark Rothko (Mark Rothko) admirable art lovers around the world and sell for tens of millions of dollars, but even experts find it difficult to answer the question of how to hang them correctly.

Now in London@Tate Modern aposs takes place exhibition of Rothko's late works, which the British journalists called one of the major exhibitions of the year. It be exhibited, in particular two paintings from the series "Black on dark-бордовом", which show thick color bands. According to the artist, the painting would have to hang so that the stripes were horizontal, but the curators of the Tate decided that it would be better if they are vertical.

Rothko donated these paintings to the Museum shortly before his suicide in 1970. Before you send them, he talked with the then Director of the Tate Norman Reid (Norman Reid). Then the artist said the painting should hang "horizontally". Place on the back of canvases where Rothko left his signature, leaves no doubt that he wanted to be exposed in this way. Norman Reid even sent the artist to layout the room, which was planned to hang works of Rothko and approved. Nine years of the band on the pictures in the Tate were horizontal, while Reid did not listen to the advice of a colleague and decided to hang the work "vertically".

In 1987, the Museum organized an exhibition of Rothko, for whom paintings are again turned "how to". Then in London there was only one Tate gallery. But in 2000 there is another Museum — Tate Modern, where it was decided to move many pieces of the old building, including paintings by Rothko. There they again hung "vertically". Achim borchardt-Хьюм (Achim Borchardt-Hume), curator of the exhibition of the latest works, says that so they better blend in height with the rest of the paintings in the exhibition.

The Art Newspaper writes that Rothko himself contributed to this confusion. In the donation contract, which he signed in 1969, the painting called "vertical portraits". In General, it is difficult to imagine that Rothko did not pay attention to this point. He was always very meticulous with regards to where and how to display his work. Widely known case, when he refused to give his work the Four Seasons restaurant in new-Йорке from-за that didn't want his picture adorned the place with many different "rich bastards".

What do you think about all this visitors? Does it matter to them, "horizontally"; or "vertically" hang pictures? "Of course, there is a difference, — says 28-летняя Laura Wilkinson (Laura Wilkinson), working in the field of marketing. — [The way in which the picture hangs. — Ed.], affects our interpretation of it. If Rothko wanted his work hung so and not otherwise, that is how they should hang. You wouldn't hang a landscape upside down". Since Laura does not agree 44-летний worker at Brent Webster (Brent Webster). "In this context, it would be better if the works will hang "vertically@., — he says. — that's the beauty of abstract art, freedom of interpretation".

Not for the first time in British museums paintings hung wrong. In 1965, the National gallery be exhibited painting by Vincent van Gogh (Vincent van Gogh) "High grass and butterflies", which accidentally hanged upside down. Noticed the error a schoolgirl. In 1994, art-критики stated that the work of Salvador Dali (Salvador Dali) "Four fishermen's wives of cadaqués", be exhibited at London's Hayward Gallery, is also hanging upside down. At the bottom of this picture must be the sea, and at the top — heaven, but to distinguish them in the painting cannot. Therefore, the gallery curators upheld its right to put this picture respectively of her own interpretation.

"Now almost all the artists sign the work or draw arrows on them to know how to hang@., — says art-дилер Matthew flowers (Matthew Flowers), who owns galleries in London districts of Mayfair and Shoreditch.

over the weekend, representatives of the Tate Modern said that would not outweigh the painting before the exhibition ends. Then, in February, they remove the work from the wall and see what locations are signed. But not the fact that the band at Rothko's works will once again become horizontal. According to representatives of the Museum, they are more to be vertical.

the Material was prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: timesonline.co.uk, artinvestment.ru

P. S. On the topic can also read:

the Tate Gallery refused to Rothko, estimated at a billion dollars
mark Rothko – the author the most expensive work of artists of Russian origin
the Record Rothko "pulled" the whole market
mark Rothko: the genius or the product of PR? Forum discussion ARTinvestment.RU