Dear Readers,

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This issue of The Art Section brings together interviews with Tom Junod, a non-fiction writer from Atlanta (and Long Island, New York) and Brett Littman, a curator from New York; and a text by Sara Buoso about the current exhibition of Mark Rothko’s work at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna.

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Award-winning journalist Tom Junod has published his first book, In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What Means to Be a Man, which he began nine years ago. In this book, he investigates his father’s identity and how it affected him growing up and influenced his own sense of self and masculinity. Included with Junod’s dialogue with Phil Auslander are audio clips from the author in which he reads his book and reflects on his childhood in Wantagh, Long Island, and growing up as the son of handbag salesman Lou Junod. The book has been described by the New York Times as “Part father-son memoir, part family detective story," as Junod “unearths his family’s hidden past.”

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Curator Brett Littman converses with me about his life as the director of several museums and how he came to be part of the art world. His first position as Associate Director of UrbanGlass was under the direction of John Perreault shifted his skills as a poet and philosopher to the role of development director and writing about contemporary art. A talented administrator, he has served in directorial positions not only at UrbanGlass, but also at Dieu Donné; The Drawing Center; PS1 (MoMA); the Noguchi Museum; and the Carpenters Workshop Gallery, New York, all contexts in which the materiality of art forms was central. Brett takes us through these experiences and how they influenced his thinking on the importance of the materials and processes that shape and define the work of art.

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Mark Rothko’s visit with his wife Mel to Florence, Italy in 1950 greatly influenced his ideas about color and space. It was in Florence that Rothko first saw Fra Angelico’s frescoes at the Convent of San Marco and Michelangelo’s architectural vision in the Vestibule of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. Christopher Rothko, curator of the exhibition, Rothko a Firenze, with Elena Geuna. said, “My father wanted his viewer to have the same religious experience seeing his paintings that he had when making them . . .  Inspired by his visits to Rome and Florence, that spiritual element became even more central. Throughout the exhibition, we have arranged intimate rooms where the personal interaction with Rothko‘s work is maximized and also enhanced by their resonance with the historic rooms themselves.” For The Art Section, art historian Sara Buoso, who is based in Rome, writes about both the drama and significance of this exhibition. Retracing Rothko’s journey opens a new perspective on the development of his life as an Artist.

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At this moment it is essential we investigate our paths in terms of time and place.

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Regards,

Deanna

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Deanna Sirlin

Editor-in-Chief 

The Art Section