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Dominique & John de Menil |
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and Dominique de Menil moved to Houston from France in the early 1940’s,
made Houston their home and became involved in the life of the city. The
de Menils’ profound sense of responsibility to their enormous wealth, a
belief in moral worthiness of modesty, and a strong sense of aesthetics,
faith, intelligence, and vision, distinguished them from other people and
directed their life’s work. They had the power, the means, and the
imagination to push the city to new possibilities especially in the arts,
and their impact and important contributions in the multi-cultural life of
the city are still unfolding. Eleanor Freed of the Houston Post wrote when John de Menil died: “…His zeal for opening the eyes of others to the excitement of living with art often co-existed with an equal ability to tread on the toes of those whom he felt were stumbling blocks on the trail that he was persistently blazing.” (Houston Post, June 1973). The Rothko Chapel was the last and one of the most important endeavors that John and Dominique de Menil worked on together. The commission of the Chapel and its mission are unique because they embody the moral, political, religious, and aesthetic values of the de Menils. In the spirit of the movement started after World War II in France of encouraging the collaboration of the church with contemporary modern artists, the de Menils chose an American contemporary modern artist to create a sacred environment for Houston. Unlike other religious art commissions, the artist worked closely with the architects to design the space that became part of the artwork he created. The Chapel’s mission is rooted in the awareness that love and the search for truth are unifying principles and that religion matters in real world affairs. At the dedication of the Broken Obelisk in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dominique de Menil said: “We have here both a Chapel and a monument: a place for worship and a memorial to a great leader. The association of these two remarkable sites should tell us over and over again that spiritual life and active life should remain united. It should tell us over and over again that whoever believes he loves God and does not love his neighbor is deceiving himself. It should remind us over and over again that there is no love without justice.”
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(c) 2004 Rothko Chapel. All Rights Reserved. |
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