The History
In the 1940's, the world was experiencing yet another war. This would transform society into a more rigid and conservative one. It is believed that the rise of Abstract Expressionism in North America was because of the ban of this type of art among the socialist European countries. None the less, Abstract Expressionism was well received by society in the West. Perhaps it was due to the shattering of the structure, a structure that could not be broken throughout the social scene but only in the Art scene. The artworks that were produced over the course of this movement, seemed very experimental and outside of the box. There were many sub-genres of Abstract Expressionism, such as Colour Field and Hard Edge, but the one that was most predominant was Action Painting. This style of Art was spearheaded by American artist Jackson Pollock. He was notorious for his massive canvases that were layered with great amounts of paint that were applied without the use of a paint brush. His works would redefine the world’s perspective of Art.
The Art
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Full Fathom Five
Artist: Jackson Pollock (Cody, 1912 - Springs 1956)
Date: 1947
Medium: Oil on canvas with nails, tacks, buttons, key, coins, cigarettes, matches, etc.
Dimensions: 129.2 x 76.5 cm
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
The action painting entitled Full Fathom Five was created in 1947 by American artist, Jackson Pollock. This work is composed of random splatters of paint, layered and scattered across the canvas. This piece is over flowing with movement. The erratic splatters of paint are like a jolt of energy surging towards the viewer, enticing us to take a second look. This action painting, like most pieces of this kind, has layers upon layers of paint and other tiny objects such as matches, buttons and coins that enhance the rugged and superimposed texture. With all this texture it might be difficult to see the unity of this piece. In fact, what makes this abstract piece so coherent and unified is the fact that the canvas shares most of its space with light coloured paint spatters evenly spread out. There is a clear contrast between the lighter colours and the dark underlying layers. Furthermore, when observing this piece we can notice the flecks of orange fighting its way to the surface. There is very little negative space in this piece, because the canvas is heavily layered with paint spatters. The eye moves up and down on a vertical axis through the canvas, due to the length of this piece. However, the eclectic placement of the lines creates a visual path for the viewer that allows them to weave in and out the layers while staying true to the vertical axis. It should be mentioned, that the title of this piece is a quote of a Shakespeare play named «The Tempest». The quote in which the character Ariel describes a death by shipwreck: “Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes.”(2) This painting gives off a great deal of energy and can almost make the viewer mesmerized by it complexity.
Date: 1947
Medium: Oil on canvas with nails, tacks, buttons, key, coins, cigarettes, matches, etc.
Dimensions: 129.2 x 76.5 cm
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
The action painting entitled Full Fathom Five was created in 1947 by American artist, Jackson Pollock. This work is composed of random splatters of paint, layered and scattered across the canvas. This piece is over flowing with movement. The erratic splatters of paint are like a jolt of energy surging towards the viewer, enticing us to take a second look. This action painting, like most pieces of this kind, has layers upon layers of paint and other tiny objects such as matches, buttons and coins that enhance the rugged and superimposed texture. With all this texture it might be difficult to see the unity of this piece. In fact, what makes this abstract piece so coherent and unified is the fact that the canvas shares most of its space with light coloured paint spatters evenly spread out. There is a clear contrast between the lighter colours and the dark underlying layers. Furthermore, when observing this piece we can notice the flecks of orange fighting its way to the surface. There is very little negative space in this piece, because the canvas is heavily layered with paint spatters. The eye moves up and down on a vertical axis through the canvas, due to the length of this piece. However, the eclectic placement of the lines creates a visual path for the viewer that allows them to weave in and out the layers while staying true to the vertical axis. It should be mentioned, that the title of this piece is a quote of a Shakespeare play named «The Tempest». The quote in which the character Ariel describes a death by shipwreck: “Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes.”(2) This painting gives off a great deal of energy and can almost make the viewer mesmerized by it complexity.
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One: Number 31, 1950
Artist: Jackson Pollock (Cody, 1912 - Springs 1956)
Date: 1950
Medium: Oil and Enamel Paint on Canvas
Dimensions: 269.5 x 530.8 cm
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
This Jackson Pollock action painting is bewilderingly massive and is composed of a network of superimposed paint spatters and drips that come in a variety of colours . The piece has a great deal of movement, because of the explosive paint splatters that have hit the canvas. Due to the large scale of this work, our visual path wonders first along the edges of the canvas, as a point of reference and then is led towards the inside of the piece by the black lines. Following this, the eye begins to jump to the lighter webs of white paint splatters. In this action painting, there are no evident shapes that are defined. However, the lines created by the drip or splatter techniques have created curved lines that are visible throughout the piece. Furthermore, this painting seems to be leaning more towards the bottom right of the canvas, which moves or body off balance. The colours used for this piece and very earthy, there are many hues of brown. Moreover, it should be mentioned that the canvas itself is unprimed which gives a natural brown base to the piece. Also, here is a high colour contrast that is apparent when observing this painting. The contrast is mainly between the white paint spatters and the black ones. The other paint colours used for this piece seem to be from a similar colour palette of browns that simply harmonizes with the canvas. The piece evokes a feeling of a struggle between good and bad (the white and the black paint). One might also see the warmth that this piece exudes because of the hues of brown.
Date: 1950
Medium: Oil and Enamel Paint on Canvas
Dimensions: 269.5 x 530.8 cm
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
This Jackson Pollock action painting is bewilderingly massive and is composed of a network of superimposed paint spatters and drips that come in a variety of colours . The piece has a great deal of movement, because of the explosive paint splatters that have hit the canvas. Due to the large scale of this work, our visual path wonders first along the edges of the canvas, as a point of reference and then is led towards the inside of the piece by the black lines. Following this, the eye begins to jump to the lighter webs of white paint splatters. In this action painting, there are no evident shapes that are defined. However, the lines created by the drip or splatter techniques have created curved lines that are visible throughout the piece. Furthermore, this painting seems to be leaning more towards the bottom right of the canvas, which moves or body off balance. The colours used for this piece and very earthy, there are many hues of brown. Moreover, it should be mentioned that the canvas itself is unprimed which gives a natural brown base to the piece. Also, here is a high colour contrast that is apparent when observing this painting. The contrast is mainly between the white paint spatters and the black ones. The other paint colours used for this piece seem to be from a similar colour palette of browns that simply harmonizes with the canvas. The piece evokes a feeling of a struggle between good and bad (the white and the black paint). One might also see the warmth that this piece exudes because of the hues of brown.
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Concluding Notes
Lastly, Abstract Expressionism was a means of expression, an outlet that allowed people in society to distract them from horror that was World War II. Also, helped redefine art and pushed us towards even more modern art styles and movements. Today, Abstract Art is everywhere; it was become the most common form of Art, because it is accessible to everyone. However, some may argue that Abstract Art has gone too far and that the world needs to go back to Art that has a clear subject matter. Personally, I see Abstract Art as a riddle, it seems confusing at first, but you just need to take the time to understand it.