Pollock, Jackson (1912-56). American painter - Leader in Abstract Expressionism

Pollock, Jackson (1912-56). American painter, the commanding figure of  Abstract Expressionist movement. 

He began to study painting in 1929 at the Art Students' League, New York and was working on styles that were influenced by the Mexican muralist painters (Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros) and surrealism.

 From 1938 to 1942 he worked for the Federal Art Project. By the mid 1940s he was painting in a completely abstract manner, and the `drip and splash' style for which he is best known emerged with some abruptness in 1947. Instead of using the traditional easel he affixed his canvas to the floor or the wall and poured and dripped his paint from a can; instead of using brushes he manipulated it with `sticks, trowels or knives' (to use his own words), sometimes obtaining a heavy impasto by an admixture of `sand, broken glass or other foreign matter'. This manner of Action painting had in common with Surrealist theories of automatism that it was supposed by artists and critics alike to result in a direct expression or revelation of the unconscious moods of the artist.  He was instrumental for introducing the all new style of American Paintings.

His unhappy personal life (he was an alcoholic) and his premature death in a car crash contributed to his legendary status. In 1944 Pollock married Lee Krasner (1911-84), who was an Abstract Expressionist painter of some distinction, although it was only after her husband's death that she received serious critical recognition.

Pollock explains his unique painting process in the following words:  “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing.  It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about.  I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.  I try to let it come through.  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…On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be ‘in’ the painting.”

Few of his popular creations: 

The Moon- woman (1942) Oil on canvas

The Key (1946 ) oil on canvas

Lavender Mist (1950) -drip

Courtesy: www.ibiblio.org