Jackson Pollock Research Paper

The resemblance in Brown's work to de Kooning and other Abstract Expressionists (such as the long strokes of Pollock) is what often creates her association with the movement. In his essay, “In Defense of Abstract Expressionism,” renowned art historian TJ Clark describes the movement as:

Jackson Pollock was not known for painting images, that's because he didn't use a brush He believed the brush would interfere with the dripping of the paint. Instead Jackson used a stick to pour paint onto the canvas. He would change the color, type of paint, and the thickness of the paint as the work progressed. Therefore, the painting would reflect the movements of his arm and body as he applied the paint. The activity of the painting would become part of the painting itself. That style of painting is called action painting. Jackson Pollock was the first "all-over" action painted just like Cernuschi stated on page 67 in his book Meaning and Significance, "He painted no image, just action." It looked like Pollock almost imitated a dance. Pollock dripped paint all over the canvas, but always had total control of where the splash of paint would be. That is how he got his nickname "Jack the

Leo Steinberg’s Other Criteria focuses on how America’s view on art differs from that of other Countries and many of the problems that ensue when artists create art in America. Also, how critics and viewers of art should perceive different pieces and how to cope with differing views. Steinberg later goes on to discuss the problems with how certain groups of people can perceive an art piece negatively, when it might not be a negative piece.

In this review, I will analyse The Legacy of Jackson Pollock (1959), written by Allan Kaprow and review how he discusses the work of Jackson Pollock, relating this to my own experimentation within my practice, and later considering the social advancements in art and how it effects Pollock’s work.

The intersection of social movements and Art is one that can be observed throughout the civil right movements of America in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. The sixties in America saw a substantial cultural and social change through activism against the Vietnam war, women’s right and against the segregation of the African - American communities. Art became a prominent method of activism to advocate the civil rights movement. It was a way to express self-identity as well as the struggle that people went through and by means of visual imagery a way to show political ideals and forms of resistance. To examine how a specific movement can have a profound effects on the visual art, this essay will focus on the black art movement of the 1960s and

Jackson Pollock was a legendary, novel, abstract expressionist who has created numerous paintings through his drip-style, action painting technique (Goodnough, 2012). Theosophical influence arose from Phillip Guston and Thomas Hart Benton, while in the early stages of the artist’s life. Muralists, such as Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera were also admired and studied by Pollock. He was captivated by the unorthodox techniques of David Alfaro Siqueiros which contributed to the abstract style of Jackson Pollock (Solomon, 1987).

The technique that Jackson Pollock adopted was referred to by many as ‘drip’ painting. This technique can be seen in his works of art from 1937 and on. The way in which Pollock created his ‘drip’ paintings would be by taking ordinary house paint and either pouring, drizzling, or flicking it across a canvas. To many critics and other artists, his technique appeared odd, especially since he was known for not using any ordinary artist’s tools. He removed himself from the confines of what an artist was expected to use by getting rid of his easel and paintbrushes. “Pollock succeeded by eliminating the brushstroke as a mark of gestural energy, in getting his labyrinth of colours to emerge in a more or less autonomous way on

Can you imagine being famous for throwing paint onto a canvas? Jackson Pollock is famously known for his “drip paintings.” During his childhood, not having a father may have been a reason for him loving art so much. Being famous led to drinking habits that Pollock could not control. His marriage fell apart after his paintings stopped selling.

Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) is Jackson Pollock’s most famous piece that shows action painting, a defining technique of Abstract Expressionism, and his innovative drip painting technique he developed in 1940. Pollock created his piece by placing the canvas on the floor, then he used brushes, or even his hands and started to drip the paint on the surface. His distinct technique of painting makes him absorbed in the creation of his art piece without being aware of what he is doing. Therefore, Pollock is free from realism and from his own self through painting because it relieves his anxiety now that he is focused only on his art. Pollock’s work is classified as non-objective because Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) cannot be related to any recognizable object from real life, so he is not constraint by reality, but goes outside the box as if liberated to soar free and paint from his

While the African American cultural tradition was a significant focus during this time, so was the black cultural experience in America as a whole. “Even so, the insistence on a distinctively black cultural history that was central to an American identity informed and shaped the work of later black art movements and solidified the relationship between black art forms and political protest.” The idea of black art was always a political issue in America, simply because the acknowledgement of black contributors was frowned upon by

When Pollock broke the mold with his unique “drip” style, he was able to show the art world and critics what could come in the future for art and the new styles that were possible if one keeps an open mind. It was also noted that Pollock was influenced by Native American sand paintings. He observed demonstrations of these paintings in the 1940s. In this style, paintings were created by trickling lines of colored sand on to a horizontal surface. Pollock was also influenced by the surrealist style and the idea of ‘psychic automatism’, which was a direct expression of the unconscious; this is very noticeable in the work he began doing in 1947.

Jackson Pollock was an abstract expressionist. Abstract expressionism is inherently difficult to define; however, most recognize the art movement to “be clustered around two basic inclinations: an emphasis on dynamic, energetic gesture, in contrast to a reflective, cerebral focus on more open fields of color” (Paul, 2004). Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings lie at the heart of the abstract expressionist movement and epitomize Pollock’s focus on what he called “the energy, the motion, and other inner forces” of the world (Karmel, 1999). The frontier myth plays the largest and most influential role in Jackson Pollock’s success.

Pollock began doing all of his works in a completely abstract manner in the mid 1940s. But, after 1947 is when Pollock's most recognizable abstract works would be produced. This is when he began placing large canvases on the floor and creating his famous abstract works. On these large canvases, he started to use his "drip" technique, which was first shown to him by Siqueiro. These drip paintings were first shown in 1948. They are said to reflect both ecstasy and anxiety. After they were introduced to the world, a critic actually characterized Pollock as "Jack the Dripper". These works captivated and scared his future wife, Lee Krasner, a painter herself.

In order to discuss pop art I have chosen to examine the work and to some extent lives of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol who were two of the main forces behind the American movement. I intend to reflect the attitudes of the public and artists in America at this time, while examining the growing popularity of pop art from its rocky, abstract expressionist start in the 1950s through the height of consumer culture in the 60s and 70s to the present day.

Taking following extreme cases of abstraction, when speaking of Pollock’s work such as his ”Autumn Rhythm” (1950), we realize how the visual formed is fully based on science and gravity that permits the dripping and pouring of the paint on the horizontal canvas. But, by walking around/on the canvas we can argue Greenberg’s analysis and suppose that the painter possibly connects with it, he gets drowned in the act and merges inside the painting while mechanically pouring paint on the canvas. This means that even though the painter tries to focus on the flatness of the painting rather than the content and is physically detached from the canvas, this focus cannot erase an emotional