Jackson Pollack
"On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally 'in' the painting." These are the words of the great 1940s artist Jackson Pollack, a commanding figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. In this essay I will talk a little about Pollack's history, his work "Full Fathom Five," and the parallels between Pollack's work and 1940s lifestyle. Paul Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in January of 1912. His family frequently moved around the western United States, as his father took various jobs to support them. When his father finally landed a steady job as a land surveyor in the Grand Canyon and other parts of the
The early 1940's marked a significant change in Pollock's style of painting. Native American motifs and other pictographic imagery began to play a role in his paintings, which showed the beginning of a new, more mature style. It is one of the first "action" paintings done by Pollock, where the eye is not allowed to rest in one single area but must appreciate the entire painting. Southwest, Pollock often joined him. He remarked that in the 1930s, his paintings had a postive message, reflecting Eisenhower's New Deal plans for a better America after the Great Depression. Many were dark and represented American bloodshed overseas. Pollock would fix his canvas to the floor and drip paint from a can using a variety of objects to manipulate the paint. He would use nails, coins, needles, and various other small objects on the canvas itself and let the paint flow around them. In 1930, Pollock joined his 2 brothers in New York at the Art Students League. Many agree that it symbolizes America's return to prosperity after WWII. Jackson Pollock always incorporated outside themes into his work. He studied under the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. In the early 1940s, many of his paintings were symbolic of World War II. His addiction became so overwhelming that in 1954, Pollock stopped painting altogether.
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Acceptance Essays
