Schapiro an art historian in the 1957 according to
the article written by Barbara Jaffee called Jackson Pollock’s Industrial
Expressionism, “asserted further that American Avant-Garde painting, i.e.,
Abstract impressionism, addressed this charge more vigorously than had any Avant-Garde
art movement before it., by formulating techniques that wed intention more
closely to expression. Among these, according to Schapiro, were spontaneity and
an innovative use of line, exemplified by the allover, linear “signature” of
Jackson Pollock’s poured canvases of the late 1940’s.” It is just these lines
that are in the painting above by Pollack in ink that we have seen in acrylic
paint in some of his more famous works.
Pollock was a man whom believed that art could be
about nothing more than lines and segmented lines and the feeling of a work
could be expressed with no need to add any other elements of traditional art.
He was in fact creating a completely abstract work with little or no symbolism
settled into reality. The view can almost but not quite see several characters
in the lines and spots of ink on the paper. In the lower foreground it would
appear that some animal has died a bloody death while two alien like beings
battle over the corpse.
However, looking at this work also forces you to
look at the idea that an artist can become one with their work. Pollock
believed that he had this symbiotic existence with his work. In the article ‘Mythical
Overtones in the work of Jackson Pollock he is quoted as saying, “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.”
His works are layered one over another making changes as he goes along no
thought given to the changes as if they matter not they will be covered and
become part of the paintings internal organs you might say.
This ability to get so involved in the work was a
way to let the mind go and process the work based entirely on the movements of
the body and the lines on the canvas. Pollock was known to walk over the
surface of his canvas while he was painting. Using the length of his arm rather
than just his hand and wrist to create some of his major canvases and they were
major. Our book by Stokstad reveals that another of Pollock’s’ paintings ‘Autumn
Rhythm (number 30)’ was 8’ 9” x 17’ 3”. This is a huge work of art all made up
of black and white lines on a canvas colored back ground.
Like this ink work on Japanese paper we are seeing a
similar color or lack thereof scheme. Done just one year apart we can see that
the artist is not held just to the large canvas alone. He is working in the
realm of the small as well. There are splatters and drips in both to accompany
the simple lines in every direction.
They both seem to have a narrative and yet there is no written word or
clear symbols in these works. There is the emotional and physical expression on
canvas that conveys the feelings of the artist at the moment in time when the
art is being created.
Unlike other artists Pollock is not using recognizable
images in his work. The work is timeless and can be numbered as no two are
alike. The images discussed in this paper are examples that are without color,
2 or 3 dimensionality, realistic symbolism or it would seem a central focus. They
are complete works that study movement. And it is movement that made these
paintings possible.
In conclusion, I found the work of Pollock very
interesting. The colored drip or poured paintings by this artist are a dazzle
of stunning color. That being said I found that the lines and their overlapping
presence gives a wonderful one dimensional perspective on what is art. These
painting are ones that I could stare at for hours and do not believe that I
could find the starting point for the very first or the ending point of the
very last line. As striking as they are timeless these pieces will always be
appreciated in the art world. Goes to show what lines in painting can do.
Works cited
Image
Untitled by Jackson Pollock. http://img.artknowledgenews.com/files2009b/Jackson_Pollock_Untitled.jpg
Articles
Jackson Pollock’s Industrial Expressionism. Barbara
Jaffee. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4134506?&Search=yes&searchText=jackson&searchText=pollock&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Ffilter%3Djid%253A10.2307%252Fj100093%26Query%3Djackson%2Bpollock%26Search.x%3D0%26Search.y%3D0%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=2&ttl=328&returnArticleService=showFullText
I think it's interesting that Pollock didn't want to "lose contact" with his paintings (in more of a metaphorical sense), yet at the same time he often didn't physically have contact with his works of art. Pollock is dripping the paint into the surface instead of touching the surface (or "making contact") with a paintbrush.
ReplyDelete-Prof. Bowen
I always felt that the way Pollock painted was very emotional and expressive in itself. It's as if emotion is being directly transfered onto canvas because he doesn't take the time to "plan" a work or use any symbolism. Expressionism is the perfect name for this kind of art.
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