Jackson Pollock

The talented American painter, 'Jack the Dripper' died young and poor, his unhappy personal life (he was an alcoholic) and his premature death in a car crash in 1956 contributed to his legendary status. Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) began to study painting in 1929 at the Art Students' League, New York, under the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. During the 1930s he worked in the manner of the Regionalists, being influenced also by the Mexican muralist painters, and by certain aspects of Surrealism. He was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his uniquely defined style of drip painting.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.
Pollock worked on large scale pieces, using colour to express his intense emotion. "My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. 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 from the four sides and literally be in the painting." Pollock painted in an aggressive manner, influenced by his personal turmoil, and his deepening alcoholism. The aftermath of World War II created social conditions that brought on Pollock's anxiety. The people of this time had to face the constant threat of a nuclear holocaust, the Cold War, the struggle of most countries to survive, the monopoly of power and prosperity concentrated in the West, and the remaining bad feelings associated with the losses caused by World War II. All of these anxieties and cultural experiences led directly to the development of Abstract Expressionism movement, and of course, Pollock's 'drip' technique."I continue to get further away from the usual painter's tools such as easel, palette, brushes, etc. I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added." The finished dry paintings have a heavily textured surface, expressing the difficult life Pollock lived in, showing his most inner turmoil and unhappiness. He had quite a successful career, however he didn't make a great deal of money from his painings in his life, unfortunately, his work began to be more recognised and appreciated after his suicide in 1956.