I’ve always liked actor Alfred Molina. Liked him in Frida. Liked his camped-out villain in Spiderman 2. Especially liked him in Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes.
Now I’ve got new respect for him off-screen as well. Why? The man came to Washington at the height of cherry blossom season, skipped the Tidal Basin and went straight to two of the city’s best art museums to commune with Mark Rothko’s masterpieces.
In preparation for his starring role as Rothko in “Red,” opening this week on Broadway, Molina spent a day at the National Gallery of Art, currently showing a series of black-on-black Rothkos in the East Wing Tower, and the Phillips Collection’s Rothko Room, a permanent exhibition of four of the artist’s paintings.
A couple things to say here: First, the National Gallery holds the nation’s largest collection of Rothkos, so if you’re a fan, this city is ground zero. Second, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Phillips’ Rothko Room. It’s a lovely place to sit and meditate on a Sunday afternoon and let the colors wash over you. In fact, it’s almost as good as a day at the spa; the artist’s blues and greens in particular put me in a zen state-of-mind.
So, Molina and I are kindred spirits. I’m booking a ticket to see “Red” in June, when I Amtrak to New York for the travel bloggers’ conference, TBEX ’10. I’ll be channeling the Rothko Room as I watch.
Image: Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1957, National Gallery of Art
