Background
Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter who became the leading force behind the abstract expressionist movement. Pollock’s unique and innovative abstract style opened new opportunities to contemporary modern art and redefined the meaning of aesthetic paintings. His courage to challenge traditional art sparked a new path for future artists to create artworks with passion and creativity. He opposed to setting any boundaries or guidelines and believed that art should be a free expression for everyone.
The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating.
Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912, in Cody, Wyoming. His father, LeRoy Pollock, worked as a farmer and a land surveyor for the government. Pollock grew up in a harsh and tough childhood; at the age of nine, his father abandoned the family. In the years following, Pollock essentially became the breadwinner of the family. Pollock experienced Native American culture while on surveying trips with his father. Pollock conceded that many of his artworks were influenced by his early memories of Native American art.
During the early 1930s, Pollock focused on the development of Regionalist style and Surrealism aspect in his artwork. Pollock wanted to include an element of vivid imagery through the use of vibrant colors and juxtaposition of subject matter. This style became iconic, which people associate to Jackson Pollock to this day.
Jackson Pollock
Socio-economic and Cultural Contexts
Jackson Pollock worked from the 1930s to the mid 1950s. However prior to his rising years as an artist, in the early 1900s, the Dada movement gained popularity in response to WW1. The Dadaists were a group of writers and artists part of the “non-movement” who created works in opposition to nationalism, materialism, rationalism, etc. After this period died down, artists began to express themselves more freely; in the past, there was more expectation for art to look a certain way, but now, artists felt that they could paint outside the lines and think outside the traditional box. More abstract artists gained traction. Surrealism and Expressionism were a few of the movements that rose after the Dada movement. Pollock was influenced by the Dada movement as well as the later styles; he created works without a specific subject that still evoked emotion in the viewer.
Jackson Pollock moved to New York City in 1930, amidst the era of the depression. During this time, unemployment skyrocketed and people were frantic to find jobs. Due to these poor socioeconomic conditions, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs to help revive the economy, known as his New Deal. One of his programs, called the Public Works of Art Project, served as a project to hire aspiring artists in order to help plan and build public buildings. Pollock began working within the mural sector of the program. Perhaps the events occurring throughout Pollock’s time, including the first world war, followed by the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, fueled his alcoholism in a country which seemed helpless.
The 1930s were a hopeless time in America- people looked to art forms such as swing music and comedy programs to distract themselves. Even though people had very little money to spare, the movie business remained intact, because films served as a type of escape for people living terrible, poverty stricken lives. Later on, in the late 40s and 50s, Pollock gained his peak of popularity during his ‘drip period’. This post war period contained the rise of the automobile and mass culture, the revival of the American Dream, increased consumerism, modernized fashion for women, and an abstract view of art. People gained a new, positive outlook on life after the victory of WW2 and a new appreciation for art- which was moving away from realism and towards Pollock’s surrealism.
Artwork
After World War II, Abstract Expressionism emerged as a vanguard artistic foundation to shed light on the intricacies of human irrationality and vulnerability. By the mid-1940s, Jackson Pollock introduced his famous and innovative form of art as ‘drip paintings’, which marked an impactful legacy in the American art history. His “drip painting” was also known as “action painting” because it required physical movement and energy to create. Unlike most traditional artist where the canvases are placed on the easel when the artist is creating a painting, Pollock would lay the canvases on the floor to allow him to drip paint on his artwork, using gravity to his advantage. Additionally, Pollock used sticks, knives to trowels to evoke an aesthetic pleasure of freedom on the canvases.
Pollock’s radical and unique art in drip painting quickly captured the public’s attention. In 1951, Pollock rose to fame when Vogue magazine published fashion photographs of models posing in front of his drip paintings. After 1951, Pollock changed his style of art with “Black Pourings”, which are paintings darker in color. This new style of using black paint on canvases was not successful to the public eye. Therefore, Pollock eventually returned back to his original form of “drip paintings”- colorfully decorated with figurative elements.
Mural (1943)
Mural was an artwork that Pollock was commissioned to complete for Guggenheim’s new townhouse entry. This huge painting was meant to cover an entire wall- around 8 feet by 20 feet. Mural was a great feat for artists; Pollock combined easel painting with an abstract style on the large scale. This piece was a unique art work of its time, unmatched in its attention to detailed brushwork despite its massive size.
Full Fathom Five (1947)
Full Fathom Five was among the first drip paintings Pollock completed. “Its surface is clotted with an assortment of detritus, from cigarette butts to coins and a key…pouring lines of black and shiny silver house paint.” The purpose behind this painting was to create a dense web of space and to give a mysterious vibe of an eternal galaxy with stars.
Autumn Rhythm: Number 30 (1950)
Autumn Rhythm is one of the most famous painting that Pollock created. This painting was the one that was featured on Vogue magazine and led to the ultimate peak to Pollock’s career. The coloring and horizontal orientation illustrates a sense of ground and evocative of nature.
Blue Poles (1952)
Blue Poles was painted in 1952 and now placed in the National Gallery of Australia. This abstract painting has many interpretations from its elaborate colors of eight blue pole-like lines that are angled slightly towards each other. The eight blue poles can be seen as the various stages of one’s life. Each pole represents a new journey in life that is filled with its ups and downs.
Seminar Themes
What makes New York City unique?
New York City has a place for everyone. It is a diverse city which offers open arms towards people of all identities, races, backgrounds, and nationalities. This accepting place is so unique because of its fast paced nature; Manhattan is constantly changing and evolving. The environment breeds innovative thinkers who are never content with the existing way of things. As such, many art movements originated in the heart of the inspiring city- such as Jackson Pollock’s introduction to surrealism. He was a figurehead in the abstract expressionist movement and the first to create drip, or action paintings. Before his time, art was generally accepted as realistic depictions of real life subjects. However his later paintings required the viewer to use more imagination to grasp meaning from his work- and New York was just the place for his rise in popularity. The open-minded attitude of New Yorkers took an appreciation to his fresh new perspective, rather than beating him down for not fitting into the traditional artist’s mold.
What is art and what is its purpose?
This theme is particularly showcased throughout Pollock’s work. He redefines the boundaries for art; especially in the surrealism movement, art is defined as a medium which provoked creativity and unfolded the inner depths of the ‘unconscious mind’. Essentially, art can be anything which makes people stop and try to grasp meaning from. Pollock’s works do exactly that- he uses certain brushstrokes and splatters to create a certain tone and texture in his works. He also uses color and space to create an abstract image- which can have a different significance to every person. The purpose of art is to make people feel something, whether it be joy, distress, anger, etc.
Meaningfulness
The theme of meaningfulness, referring to the meaning in life and what gives life purpose. Pollock suffered from alcoholism for practically his entire life. Eventually, in his last couple years, he quit working as an artist, overwhelmed by his fame and expectations, and his demise was ultimately a car accident under the influence of alcohol. Pollock creates works of art essentially to help him on his search for meaning in life, which is the same reason why most artists create. He struggles with this concept, which is evident in his changing art styles and ultimate downfall at the age of 44.
Bibliography
History.com Staff. “The 1930s.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010,
“Jackson Pollock and his Paintings.” Jackson-Pollock, 2011, www.jackson-pollock.org/.
“Jackson Pollock Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, 2017,
www.theartstory.org/artist-pollock-jackson.htm.
“Jackson Pollock.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017,
www.biography.com/people/jackson-pollock-9443818.
Thees, Hannah. “Jackson Pollock.” General Historical Context and Period, 1 Jan. 1970,
jacksonpollockartist-hannah.blogspot.com/2008/11/general-historical-context-and-period.
html.
December 15, 2017 at 11:42 am
Often times, when I see splattered paint on a large canvas I have a hard time figuring out the motive behind it. In my eye, I always considered these type of artists as “lazy” and not striving to create something more meaningful. However, after reading about Jackson Pollock, I realized just how much work and effort goes into such a painting. The video went more in depth into the technique he used. His use of different materials, not just paint brushes, shows how he explored the meaning of art not just through the traditional ways. When he was splattering the paint onto the canvas, it was random, but in a sense I believe it was also intentional. Pollock, like many other artists, had a vision and he went through with it, even if the splatter of paints did not turn out the way he envisioned it in the first place. That is the beauty of art: the uniqueness of it.
December 16, 2017 at 3:40 pm
After listening to your presentation of Jackson Pollock, it made me think about his art in a completely. Prior to this class, I always failed to understand the art behind the work as it always just looked like splattered paint. I always knew there was more to it but I still couldn’t bring myself to appreciate. However, after you explained it, I found it extremely interesting how since he placed his canvass on the ground and splattered the paint, you can almost envision the body movements it took to create every stroke. Now when I look at his works it helps me look at it more as a combination of different strokes and movements rather than one giant mess.
December 17, 2017 at 4:39 pm
It was interesting to me that Jackson Pollock interacted with Native Americans. By meeting with them, he was influenced by their style and incorporated it in his own art work. Originally, I thought that his art was just random splatters and lines on a canvas. However, I learned that is actually about painting in mid-air. It is interesting to imagine that the art works were made by dripping paint. It must have taken a long period of time and he must have put in a lot of effort. I respect him for the amount of dedication that he put into his artwork.
December 18, 2017 at 1:16 am
The first time I heard of Jackson Pollock was actually in elementary school although I hadn’t known it at the time. My art teacher had us make paintings the way that Pollock did by painting with the brush in the air for the paint to fall onto the canvas rather than to paint directly on it. I had always remembered this because I thought it was a cool and fun way of painting that I hadn’t known before. I had always connected painting with a portrait or landscape rather than “scribbles of paint”. I agree with your connection to What is art and what is its purpose because art has changed so much overtime that what qualifies art now can be very different than what many people may think. One can consider the raindrops hitting a gutter to be music while someone else will consider it to be noise.
December 18, 2017 at 2:16 pm
The technique Jackson Pollock uses to create drip paintings requires a lot of effort. I would never have thought that splattering paint required much work, but I have come to realize how difficult it could be for the artist and how much is put into a painting, with the body movements, to make it what it is. I have gained an appreciation for this type of artwork after reading your post on him and viewing other artworks created by him in museums. The viewer must really understand the different strokes and play close attention to the complexity in creating such a painting in order to appreciate it and the artist fully.
December 19, 2017 at 12:33 pm
I myself am very inspired by the artist Jackson Pollock as he used his artwork as a medium to rawly convey his emotions to his audience. I find it especially interesting how he placed his canvas on the ground and spent up to weeks and months pouring paint in different patterns to convey his internal turmoil. It speaks to the facts that good things like his art take time. Furthermore, I like how most of his art is made solely of linear patterns in the abstract plane. I find a sense of humbleness to his art as it wasn’t aimed at making him famous but rather just expressing his own emotions.
December 22, 2017 at 10:41 am
Great job in explaining the life of Jackson Pollock. I didn’t know that some of his works were inspired by Native American art. I also enjoyed learning about his “drip painting.” It really represented who he was as an artistic because it was essentially freedom of expression. I can see how he revolutionized painting because this type of art was probably very radical for his time. I think his art evokes a certain surprising emotion that makes his art so inspirational. His work definitely shows how New York City is unique. His abstract art really made a difference in the history of New York City.