Raquel's Pollock Piece

My interpretation of Pollock's works is that they are very expressive pieces. I feel that he put a lot of emotion into his work. For my painting I chose colors that suited my mood and allowed myself to let loose and have fun with the piece. It gave me a chance to actually enjoy painting again. I chose to incorporate Pollock's drip method in my piece as well since it is a very recognizable characteristic of Jackson Pollock.

Artistic Philosophy

Jackson Pollock's Artistic Philosophy is one like no other. He has a very unique way of thinkig and painting. He centers the basis of his ideas on the concepts and ideas of surrealism. His works are mostly non-representational. Pollock painted from how he felt on the inside. He painted his canvases on the floor because he enjoyed getting close to his work and being able to work all around and stand in the painting. Pollock believed that the modern artist was working with space and time and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating. He also said that when he was painting he was not aware of what he is doing. It's only after a "get acquainted" period that he  saw what he'd been about.

"Every good painter paints what he is ".

Jackson Pollock

Hannah and Raquel

http://www.artquotes.net/masters/pollock_quotes.htm

Hannah's Painting

I chose to do a painting in acrylic for this project. I chose acrylic because I new it would be the easiest to splatter paint with. Jackson Pollock had a style in which he painted, and I think that I portrayed his style in my own way. I used many differetn colors and used the method of flinging the paint onto the paper. I really enjoyed doing this piece because it allowed be to let loose and just have fun with what I was doing.

Pollock- Look a like

One of the reasons I made the decision to my painting look the way that I did was, because of the Autumn piece that Jackson Pollock completed. I thought that the colors and direction of the paint was breath taking. So instead of doing the same colors I made a few changes. But overall still have the same look. I also made it a lot smaller, but I really enjoyed completing this piece. I also enjoyed painting like Pollock did. It was a huge stress reliever.
Kassey Decker

Kassey Decker- printing w/ acrylic

General Historical Context and Period

To fully understand the works of Jackson Pollock as well as many other artists of the time, it is necessary to understand what was happening historically around the world. In the early 1900's the Dada movement or, "non-movement" as it were, began in response to World War I. Dadaist were a group of artist and writers who were fed up with society and did everything they could to criticize a slew of -isms such as nationalism, rationalism, materialism, etc. They wanted nothing to do with artistic traditions so they chose to create what was considered "non-art" using mild obscenities, scatological humor, visual puns and everyday objects. Eventually by the early 1920's Dada put an end to itself.

After the Dada period art now held new meaning. There were no lines to stay inside and artist were free to express themselves however they pleased. Art was no longer confined to realistic reproductions of real life. Out of the Dada movement came Surrealism and Expressionism, among other styles. Pollock, having seen Dada, was influenced by the movement as well. Artists of this time began to create art that evoked strong feelings without giving a certain subject to their pieces. The works were open ended leaving the viewer to develop their own understanding of the pieces.

Raquel Branscum

http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm

Early Work- Later Work

Jackson Pollock lived a very short life, but in that short time he became widely known. In his early works he started with abstract paintings. Trying all different types of medias. Mostly oil painting on canvas. He started his painting career in 1929. He was educated at the Art Student League in New York. Where he was influenced by Mexican muralist painters. He was also influenced my certain aspects of surrealism. It was not until the mid 1940's when Pollock began his study of abstract paintings. Where he started his more famous style of painting; he used the technique of drip painting. But with each artist their is a start to fame and Jackson is no different. He first started working for the government in a program called WPA (work progress administration). With Jackson doing this work for the government he provided with income. But unfortunately some of his paintings were lost over the years. So there are not that many painting for the viewers to see. All the paintings that still remain are influenced my Native Americans. Jackson Pollock painted from myths and his dreams. He was influenced in his early works by Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. This is where he started his focus on surrealism. But for a long time Jackson was working with Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siquerios. Where Jackson first used a pouring and flinging paint to achieve spontaneous effect. Pollock soon changed his focus to what most people know him for, which is his drip style paintings.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/


Later- Works
Pollock was the master mind of creating new things. In 1946-47 he moved his canvas from hanging on walls to working on the ground. He made great improvements by doing this because he could really get into the painting. He could get into all four sides. He said that there were no mistakes in his work that everything happened for a reason and was left to be there. Pollock also talked about there being no beginning or no end. He was always in control with his work. Although, it does not seem like he is because of the drip look to his work, but he was. Some of the materials that Jackson used within his paintings was: broken glass, sand, string etc. Jackson felt that his paintings were expressions of feelings rather than impressions. Research has shown that he sand idea came from the Native Americans that he was influenced by within his early works. So although is style has changed greatly over time he still went with first techniques. One of the techniques that Pollock used to control his drip style was to use a stick instead of a brush. Almost all of his paintings were done this way. Pollock felt that the floor was the best canvas because it felt like home rather than work. So to him it was more natural. Pollock also gave himself a very limited palette of: white, black, gold and red. Pollock also did all his work within a barn instead of a studio because of the way that he would fling paint from place to place. He needed an area that he could be comfortable to create his masterpieces. So the barn was the best place for him to accomplish his work. Unfortunately, Jackson Pollock did not live a full life. August 11, 1956 our daring artist was killed in a car accident, due to drinking and driving. Pollock was only 44 years old when he died. So if he was still alive how would his work be today? That is something we will never know, but he did make an impression on many different people all around the world. But he left his fans with an unfinished canvas and lots of questions.


Kassey Decker
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/cas/pkhouse.nsf/pages/pollock

Artistic Training

Jackson Pollock, as earlier stated, began his artistic studies at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles where he was influenced by a painter and illustrator, Frederick John de St. Vrain Schwankovsky. Schwankovsky gave Pollock some basic training in drawing and painting, introduced him to European modern art, and encouraged his interest in theosophical literature.

Later he pursued his interest of art and began to study painting, drawing, and composition at the Art Students' League, New York in 1930. He was taught and influenced by a Regionalist painter named Thomas Hart Benton who had also been a teacher to Pollock's brother. Pollock worked in the Regionalist manner through the 1930's, but by the mid 1940's his style had become completely abstract and he began to use his drip style in 1947.

Raquel Branscum
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/468051/Jackson-Pollock

http://www.jacksonpollock.com/

Jackson Pollock's Style/ Manner

Jackson Pollock has been known for his very unique style and way of painting. His style is very abstract and he accomplished this technique by using rapid, impulsive brush movements. Pollock would place the canvas on the floor instead of using a traditional easel. He splashed the paint on the Canvas, and would use all sorts of utensils for applying the paint, such as sticks, towels, knives, and paint cans themselves. Pollock would poke a hole in the bottom of the can and let the paint run out onto the canvas through the hole.

Jackson Pollock became interested in the method of art done in primitive cultures and he was very fascinated in the Native American Navajo sand painters and their method of working. They would work on the ground with many different colors of sand that they would sprinkle around to make abstract designs.

Pollock had a very innovative, and he would approach art from every angle. Pollock would not just stand back and analyze his work, he would get in it and touch it and mess with it. In some of Pollocks works, foot prints would be visible from where he stepped on it. Pollock was all about showing feelings and emotions instead of making something look real.

Hannah Thees
http://www.jackson-pollock.com/uniquestyle.html

General Overview of Jackson Pollock

Paul Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. A year after Jackson was born, his family moved to Arizona and moved about California. Jackson was the youngest of five children, and his parents were LeRoy McCoy Pollock and Stella McClure Pollock. Pollock attended Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, where he was encouraged to pursue his interest in art. Two brothers of Pollock were also studying art at this time and Pollock was asked to join one of them in New York to study with Thomas Hart Benton. After studying with his brother and Benton, Pollock went east and enrolled in Benton's class at the League.
While in Benton's class, Pollock analyzed Old Master paintings and learned all about drawing and composition. He studied many mural paintings and also posed for artists who were at the time painting murals. Pollock soon started doing some of his own work, which reflected the art of many famous artists, such as Picasso, Miro, and many other surrealist painters. He soon became interested in a style of painting, where he would fling and pour the liquid onto the canvas. Soon after that he started working for WPA Federal Art Program. He worked there for eight years and after that he moved to Springs, Long Island in New York. He lived there for the rest of his life with his wife and focused on his art. He went through many hard times in his life and was an alcoholic through a majority of his life. After many years of stuggle and many years of great works, Pollock tragically died in a car accident on the morning of August 12, 1956. Pollock had been drunk and killed a passenger and seriously injured another. Pollock has been known as a very influential abstract painter of his time, and will be remembered forever.


Hannah Thees
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/cas/pkhouse.nsf/pages/pollock
http://www.nga.gov/feature/pollock/artist4.shtm