In conjunction with the Met’s newly-opened Bacon retrospective it’s good to have a look at this BBC documentary. The program consists of a series of conversations between Bacon and interviewer Melvyn Bragg, starting with commentary during a side-show presentation at the Tate Gallery in London. Later in the evening, Bacon is followed through various bars hanging out, drinking, and gambling. In another segment, Bacon provides a tour of his painting studio and a glimpse at his reference photographs of distorted humans. The artist discusses his theories, influences, and obsessions.
"Rothko completely escaped me. I mean I always used to think that abstract painting might at least bring you the most lovely, vibrant colors... but they... you know they've got a room of them here [at Tate] - if you want to be really depressed for the rest of the day, you could go into that room. I suppose you could say that is a quality. It's just that I hate that dirty maroon color he has used in those things and if I wanted really to be depressed, I would go in for a few hours into that Rothko room just to look at maroon, I could go and look at the art of maroon they could roll out for me. I think they are just the dreariest paintings that have ever been made..."
I agree completely!!
