Editing Mark Rothko (section)

==="Mythomorphic" abstractionism===
At the root of Rothko and Gottlieb's presentation of archaic forms and symbols, illuminating modern existence had been the influence of [[Surrealism]], [[Cubism]], and [[abstract art]]. In 1936, Rothko attended two exhibitions at the [[Museum of Modern Art]], "Cubism and Abstract Art", and "Fantastic Art, Dada, and Surrealism".{{sfn|Ashton|1983|p=34}}

In 1942, following the success of shows by [[Max Ernst|Ernst]], [[Joan Miró|Miró]], [[Wolfgang Paalen]], [[Yves Tanguy|Tanguy]], and [[Salvador Dalí]], artists who had immigrated to the United States because of the war, [[Surrealism]] took New York by storm.{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=181}} Rothko and his peers, [[Adolph Gottlieb|Gottlieb]] and [[Barnett Newman|Newman]], met and discussed the art and ideas of these European pioneers, as well as those of [[Piet Mondrian|Mondrian]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

New paintings were unveiled at a 1942 show at [[Macy's]] department store in New York City. In response to a negative review by ''[[The New York Times]]'', Rothko and Gottlieb issued a manifesto, written mainly by Rothko. Addressing the ''Times'' critic's self-professed "befuddlement" over the new work, they stated "We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth." On a more strident note, they criticized those who wanted to live surrounded by less challenging art, noting that their work necessarily "must insult anyone who is spiritually attuned to interior decoration".{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=191–42}}

Rothko viewed myth as a replenishing resource for an era of spiritual void. This belief had begun decades earlier, through his reading of [[Carl Jung]], [[T. S. Eliot]], [[James Joyce]] and [[Thomas Mann]], among other authors.{{sfn|Ashton|1983|p=41}}