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tiny gay rothko
1.5" x 2.4" Trash, inkjet prints, repeatedly printed
tiny gay rothko is a translation of Mark Rothko’s paintings. My interest Rothko paintings stems from both a deep appreciation for the work but also a criticism of the modernist claims made by mostly straight white men. I asked myself, how might I subvert the conventions of a Rothko painting? Scale, material, and reproducibility, are some of the formal ways I addressed this question. I scanned the objects made out of trash in order to make them infinitely reproducible, reflecting a democratic approach to art making. Calling them gay situates my attempt to “queer the arts” and applies a lens to this transformation. Through this queering Rothko’s paintings, which are soft and ephemeral (aesthetics coded as feminine) have been turned into pieces that are geometric and clearly defined (aesthetics coded as masculine), playing on the notion of gendered aesthetics. I invite the viewer to see new possibilities and to celebrate the bizarre, the beautiful, and the gaieties of life.