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Dear Mark Rothko

Dammit Jim, I'm a Fine Artist Not an Interior Decorator!

Dear Mark Rothko, I love ya man but do you have any idea what you have done? Besides making people do awkward yoga in front of your paintings at museums, I mean. I'm talking about the revolution of quick color splotch "artists" you have spawned by the thousands that are clogging up dentists offices, boutique galleries and restaurants all across the world. Paintings that are solely based on matching someones sofa....and perhaps don't clash with the main attraction of the room....the flat screen.
Mark Rothko "White Center" 1950

You have made it hard for the fine artists who spend TIME on their work to find places to show because there is such a plethora of artists who crank out these splotchy paintings in bulk a day and....they sell. At least I think they sell? It's the equivalent of bubble gum machine toys made in China. They are all over the place! Maybe I'm just seeing the same 30 pieces everywhere I go.
For the record, I really do appreciate Rothkos abstract expressionism. I'm a devotee of color and these are amazing for the time he was working in. However, you are not Rothko and I am not Rothko and all these cranksters need to develop their own unique style. Please. I'm tired of looking up over my plate in a restaurant and seeing bad art.
Is it just me or is putting TIME and EFFORT into your work frowned upon and not in vogue these days? Maybe I just need to silkscreen everything. Maybe I need to paint sofas to go with your sofa. That's it! I will paint the portrait of your sofa- how can it NOT match?!
(Awkward yoga in front of Rothko paintings is real. I was a guard at a museum. I watched this happen. I'm down with color meditation. And watching awkward yoga is the highlight of a bored guards day. Breathe in, Breathe out. Namaste!)

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