When I first looked at Jackson Pollock’s Lavender Mist on page 87, I couldn’t help but say to myself sorry Mr. Pollock, but you’ll have to try again. At least make an attempt to make your randomness look like something distinguishable. At first I thought it was one of those pictures where if you look at it in just the right way long enough, a figure kind of jumps out at you. But alas, it was not.
Perhaps I am looking at his art the wrong way. Pollock claimed that each of his paintings had a life of its own and that he simply controlled its direction. While that is fine and dandy, I still think that an artist can give life to their painting by displaying a piece that is semi-recognizable. I actually really like the concept of action painting where the artist walks around on his/her own painting. It gives the physical sense that the maker is truly part of his creation, but that does not mean you can just slop down paint and let its uncertainty find its place for it. Gravity controls just as much as Pollock does in that case.
While I feel kind of bad ripping on the guy, especially since he is one of the few people we’ve read about that I knew of before this class started, I just don’t appreciate his style of art. I don’t feel that it takes much talent and while some may say it is incredibly creative, I feel it lacks creativeness. My 4 year old nephew recently drew, scribbled may be a better word, me a picture of a mama duck and 3 baby ducks. While you probably never would have knew what it was if he didn’t tell you, it sort of reminded me of Pollock’s work; kind of random and just color everywhere. Perhaps my nephew is an artistic genius and I have his best masterpiece yet. Let the bidding start at $10,000.
