The artist Alfonso Ossorio, described Pollock's artistic journey this way:
"Here I saw a man who had both broken all the traditions of the past and unified them,
who had gone beyond cubism, beyond Picasso and surrealism, beyond everything that
had happened in art....his work expressed both action and contemplation."
Pollock reveals the artistic process as the essence of creation, not the product, or finished painting. Process is action, and product is passive. Process is alive, and product the dead. Looking at his painting what you see is the action, the process, the moment still alive with texture, color and pattern.
Jackson Pollock was an abstract American artist who believed in expressing himself through his art, creating composition which may be far from reality, non-figurative. Widely known for his spectacular, wall-sized paintings, which typically feature a combination of swirling drips, bright splotches, and bold, rhythmic streaks; he is an artist who lived his art. He emerged as the most original painter in America, for his unprecedented physical involvement with the act of painting.
"Here I saw a man who had both broken all the traditions of the past and unified them,
who had gone beyond cubism, beyond Picasso and surrealism, beyond everything that
had happened in art....his work expressed both action and contemplation."
Pollock reveals the artistic process as the essence of creation, not the product, or finished painting. Process is action, and product is passive. Process is alive, and product the dead. Looking at his painting what you see is the action, the process, the moment still alive with texture, color and pattern.
Jackson Pollock was an abstract American artist who believed in expressing himself through his art, creating composition which may be far from reality, non-figurative. Widely known for his spectacular, wall-sized paintings, which typically feature a combination of swirling drips, bright splotches, and bold, rhythmic streaks; he is an artist who lived his art. He emerged as the most original painter in America, for his unprecedented physical involvement with the act of painting.
Threads of flowing color After a period of struggle with traditional style, Pollock broke ingeniously. He threw the vertical style of painting, lay his painting on the ground and wrestled with flat ground. Focused, Pollock made familiar tools foreign, canvas and paint, body and brush, rivers of color, entering his work, embodying the process. Paint flew. Pollock was the painting, the painting Pollock. With his innovative style, he approached the canvas from every possible angle. It was his dance floor. Some of his works have an impression of foot. By creating these action paintings, he felt he was actually a part of the painting. |
What do we see when we see a Jackson Pollock? We see what Pollock stands for - freedom and self-expression. There is an illusion in the artwork that something has been done through sheer instinct alone, what you would call abstract, expressionist stuff. It is not difficult to see why so many fail to understand his art. It is through chaos, the ideas come alive, and through contradiction one experiences independence. These very same elements of chaos and contradiction were very much the artist himself. There was something extremely fine and delicate with all of these lines and is choreographed on some level of ecstasy. There is no foreground, no background, no character, no object, no limit and nothing to focus on. It’s just the ideas splattered all over with no beginning and no ending, just like a state of mind.
What else do we see? We also see a particularly American financial success story. The painting Autumn Rhythm failed to sell at all when it was first shown when the asking price was only $1200. After Pollock died a dealer offered it to the Museum of Modern Art for $8000 and they were appalled by the price. Then it was offered again at $30,000 and they didn’t even reply to the letter. Eventually the Metropolitan Museum bought it for $20,000. A trustee said, "a painting this big must be worth something!" Today his paintings are priced at hundreds of millions. The painting No. 5 (1948) is alone priced at $162 million.
What else do we see? We also see a particularly American financial success story. The painting Autumn Rhythm failed to sell at all when it was first shown when the asking price was only $1200. After Pollock died a dealer offered it to the Museum of Modern Art for $8000 and they were appalled by the price. Then it was offered again at $30,000 and they didn’t even reply to the letter. Eventually the Metropolitan Museum bought it for $20,000. A trustee said, "a painting this big must be worth something!" Today his paintings are priced at hundreds of millions. The painting No. 5 (1948) is alone priced at $162 million.
What made Pollock popular was the seeming chaos and wildness of his process. He would lay the canvas down on the floor, get the paint out of the cans onto the canvas in these big, sweeping loops using sticks and dried up hardened brushes. But it was not all wild. There was a method in this seeming madness. He built the work in stages. It isn't wild art, it is deliberate, sophisticated art. It is good art with a certain wildness in it. Spontaneity, chance, ugliness are all in there making something new, something graceful and delicate. Referring to his style Pollock stated, “I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk round it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.” Watch this short video of Pollock talking about his style.
His Life
It is said that Pollock discovered his method by accident, when paint dripping from a brush created a graceful pattern on the floor. He was hooked, put his canvas down on the floor and used the drip technique to create his art work. After World War - II New York started taking over the modern art scene. Picasso had lost his newness and Pollock with his abstract drip was the sign of progress.
By the mid 1950s, Pollock's work had been displayed all over New York and most of Europe. He was successful, but inside his head a tragedy was unfolding. He had turned into a depressed alcoholic. He'd be subdued when he was sober. But when he was drunk, the aggression would come out. He was violent and had terrible insecurity. He was shy by nature and too sensitive to criticism.
His own self-destructiveness was overwhelming. On the night of 11th Aug, 1956 Pollock was driving in his car with two friends. He had gotten the car in exchange for two small paintings. He was drunk and was driving at 80 miles an hour. The car came to a curve in the road, a spot he knew well as it was only a few yards from his home. But he failed to turn and the car sped towards a group of Oak trees. It collided with a trunk and Pollock was thrown out of the car due to the impact. He collided with a tree head first and was killed instantly. That was the tragedy of Jackson Pollock.
The Critics
Admired for his imagination and pragmatism with the use of color, he captured the moment into mystical splashes. It is argued that the work done by him is no great art; in fact anyone could start dripping and produce the splashes. His work was ridiculed and misunderstood. It was proven later that his work is impossible to recreate. It is what his imitators could never do, and why there are no successful Pollock forgeries: they always end looking like total chaos, whereas Pollock in his best work had an almost preternatural control over the total effect of depths and flow of paint.
In the documentary above, when I saw Pollock painting, I was struck by the way he moved swiftly and gracefully around the canvas tacked to the floor, as he poured and spattered paint. Then, he would step back and judge, then move and paint again.
It is said that Pollock discovered his method by accident, when paint dripping from a brush created a graceful pattern on the floor. He was hooked, put his canvas down on the floor and used the drip technique to create his art work. After World War - II New York started taking over the modern art scene. Picasso had lost his newness and Pollock with his abstract drip was the sign of progress.
By the mid 1950s, Pollock's work had been displayed all over New York and most of Europe. He was successful, but inside his head a tragedy was unfolding. He had turned into a depressed alcoholic. He'd be subdued when he was sober. But when he was drunk, the aggression would come out. He was violent and had terrible insecurity. He was shy by nature and too sensitive to criticism.
His own self-destructiveness was overwhelming. On the night of 11th Aug, 1956 Pollock was driving in his car with two friends. He had gotten the car in exchange for two small paintings. He was drunk and was driving at 80 miles an hour. The car came to a curve in the road, a spot he knew well as it was only a few yards from his home. But he failed to turn and the car sped towards a group of Oak trees. It collided with a trunk and Pollock was thrown out of the car due to the impact. He collided with a tree head first and was killed instantly. That was the tragedy of Jackson Pollock.
The Critics
Admired for his imagination and pragmatism with the use of color, he captured the moment into mystical splashes. It is argued that the work done by him is no great art; in fact anyone could start dripping and produce the splashes. His work was ridiculed and misunderstood. It was proven later that his work is impossible to recreate. It is what his imitators could never do, and why there are no successful Pollock forgeries: they always end looking like total chaos, whereas Pollock in his best work had an almost preternatural control over the total effect of depths and flow of paint.
In the documentary above, when I saw Pollock painting, I was struck by the way he moved swiftly and gracefully around the canvas tacked to the floor, as he poured and spattered paint. Then, he would step back and judge, then move and paint again.
His Works The Earlier Work: “Going West” (1935) This is one of his earlier works. Set in a nocturnal landscape where the swirling effect, mules draw two wagons along a road in front of a rickety-looking general store. A full moon dominates the sky, the brightest portion of which reads as a human profile looking toward the lone muleteer. This small painting contains many of the characteristics of Pollock’s later Abstract Expressionist style and symbolism: linearity; emphasis on the four-footed animal, dependence on motifs which appears throughout his work. Number One 1950 “Lavender Mist” This marks the beginning of his abstract art, admired by many yet understood by few. At first glance, you might not find the relevance and mull over whether it is a great art. Suppose you enter a room and you see a painting of nearly 10x5 feet size with all its amazing and unseen texture and vibrant use of color, it would stir your inner self; directly appeal to you, believe me it would. It is then you see the true art free from any bias or judgment. |
I end with a quote by Jackson Pollock which represents him, his art and abstract art.
"When I am in a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted'
period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the
image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I
lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy
give and take, and the painting comes out well."
Authors: Arpita Verma and Sarvotham Shetty.
"When I am in a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted'
period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the
image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I
lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy
give and take, and the painting comes out well."
Authors: Arpita Verma and Sarvotham Shetty.