JACKSON POLLOCK(1912-1956)

An overview of Jackson Pollock’s style

• Considered one of the most Influential American Painters of all time

• Used elements of Surrealism & Abstract painting

• Helped redefine modern art in America

• A pioneer in “Expressionism” which is a kind of art that instead of representing something or a figure, Expressionism represents emotions, feelings & ideas through non-representational forms.

• In Pollock’s most famous works, there is no recognizable subject

• Pollock’s drip paintings are complex, highly textured compositions with multiple coats of dripped and poured paint.

• Born Paul “Jackson” Pollock January 28, 1912 in Wyoming

• The youngest of 5 brothers

• Parents were both struggling farmers, moving around the Midwest and West often.

• Pollock believes his appreciation for America’s landscapes and natural beauty was because of the exposure he had as a young child traveling so often.

Jackson Pollock’s Early Years

1918 family portrait of the Pollock Family (bottom left)Pollock Family eating watermelon in Arizona1914

• His mother encouraged him to pursue his love for the arts.

• He would watch Native American dances and ceremonies when living in Arizona, this also had a huge influence on his work.

• Pollock was expelled from his High School & Los Angeles’ Manual Arts High School for his moody and rebellious behavior.

• 1929 Pollack followed his dream of studying art with his brother at the Art School League in NYC.

Early years

Jackson & Charles Pollock at The Art School League NYC 1930Pollock’s High School

Photo 1928

Pollock’s Early Influences• Thomas Hart Benton was a huge influence in Pollock’s early work.

• Benton painted with oils, teaching technique in drawing and mural painting to Pollock.

• Many noticed the similarities in style and often compared Jackson Pollack’s early work Going West (1935) to Benton’s Arts of the West (1932)

• Benton apparently used Jackson Pollock as the model for harmonica player in Arts of the West. Going West, was Pollock’s take of his family always packing and moving from state to state.

Jackson Pollock Going West (1935) Thomas Benton Arts of the West (1932)

Mexican Influences on Early Mural Work

The Soldiers of Zapata 1966 mural by José David Alfaro Siqueiros

La Trinchera, 1926, by Jose Clemente Orozco “Part Of Diego Rivera’s Mural

Depicting Mexico History” 1929-1945

by Diego Rivera

Figures in a Landscape 1937 Lithograph by Jackson Pollock

The above Mexican artistsheavily influenced

Jackson Pollock’s work below

Landscape with Steer 1937 by Jackson Pollock

Pollock’s Artistic Challenges & Struggles...

• Despite Pollock’s love of creating art, he was not particularly strong at drawing or painting.

• He was often frustrated and exhibited rebellious behavior.

• Pollock often produced unfinished work where his sadness was easily detected

self portrait 1930 by Jackson Pollock

The Great Depression leads to amazing

opportunity for American Artists• During The Great Depression, there were very few jobs available in America. The US Government established the Federal Art Project to employ out-of-work artists.

• From 1938-1942, Pollock participated in this program, creating art work to appear in public places such as school, hospitals, banks & libraries, in exchange for a salary.

• Pollock took advantage of free classes offered to artists and it was here that he learned about painting using different materials: spray bottles, airbrushes, sticks.

• He also learned how to be spontaneous - and that it was ok not having to sketch all the time, instead painting directly on canvas.

Pollock finds his style

• By 1940, Pollock was painting completely abstract - the term “drip & splash” was coined because of his art.

• Instead of using a traditional easel, he would affix the canvas to the floor

• Paint would drip, or be poured by use of sticks, knives, sand, broken glass and anything else of interest to Pollock

“On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of

the painting since this way I can walk around it, work the

four sides and literally be in the painting.”-Jackson Pollock

Number 8, 1949Eyes and Heat 1946

Pollock at Work

Some of Pollock’s Action Paintings

Convergence, 1952

“The method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement.... I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end.” -Jackson Pollock

• In 1945, Pollock married fellow artist Leonore (Lee) Krasner

• They moved to what is now known as “The Pollock-Krasner House & Studio” in East Hampton, NY (on Long Island).

• Pollack would use the barn behind their home as his studio

Personal life of Jackson Pollock

Pollack & Krasner

Home (above) and Barn/Studio (below)

Pollock & Krasner Studio

The Pollock Krasner Studio is still open for tours in East Hampton, NY every summer.

Later Years of Jackson Pollock

• Pollock began to number his work (in no particular order) instead of naming each painting

• He didn’t create much art the last few years of his life because he believed he was no longer touching people

• Jackson Pollock died in 1956, he was 44 years old.

An example to show the size of canvas Pollock used

Number 4, 1950Shimmering Substance, 1946

Lavender Mist, 1950

Number 19, 1948

What the critics say...• Art Historians have said, “Pollock’s paintings are meant to make you think of a wild tribe

dance, or a piece of music.”

• Aug. 8, 1949, Life Magazine ran an article that inquired, "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?"

• Art critic Clement Greenberg said, “he took one look at the painting and realized that Jackson was the greatest painter this country has produced."

• Artist Alfonso Ossorio said, "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."

• Time Magazine mocked Pollock’s work by calling him “Jack the Dripper”

• Art Critic Robert Cotes said “mere unorganized explosions of random energy, and therefore meaningless.”

• During Pollock’s lifetime, he never made much money from his painting and never showed his work outside of America.

• However, after he died, Pollock’s art has been selling for millions all over the world.

• In 2006, one of Pollock’s painting’s “No. 5, 1948” sold for 140 million dollars, setting a new record for the most money ever paid for a painting.

• Museum of Modern Art in New York City has the largest collection of Jackson Pollock’s work on display today

No. 5, 1948

Jackson Pollock’s art today