Jackson Pollock Invented a New Kind of Painting That Changed the Way People Looked at Art

 
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When he first began painting, Jackson Pollock painted representational objects such as people and animals. However, he is famous for helping to create a whole new art movement called Abstract Expressionism. An "abstract" image is one where the subject is not represented realistically. Instead, the artist uses color and shapes to suggest the most general qualities of the subject.  "Expressionism" is a kind of art that expresses feelings and thoughts. Abstract Expressionism is art that shows emotions and ideas through non-representational forms.

 
Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in nineteen twelve. He grew up in the states of Arizona and California. Pollock later said that the wide-open land of these western areas greatly influenced his expansive artwork. In nineteen thirty he moved east to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League. There, Pollock spent a few years studying with the artist Thomas Hart Benton who painted images of every day American life. Pollock's early works are similar to his teacher's kind of painting. However, Pollock slowly left this traditional art education behind.

 
Also, when he was in his late twenties, Pollock suffered a mental breakdown.  It was caused in part by depression and dependence on alcohol.  As a result, he was treated by a Jungian psychoanalyst. This is a special kind of expert in emotional health who works to understand the unconscious mind, dreams, and emotions. Pollock was influenced by this kind of investigation of human relations and emotions. This "inside world" would become the subject of his paintings.
 
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His paintings are explosions of curving lines, shapes and colors. In his art you can see every movement that his arm made. You can see how he had to move his body around the canvas. Videos of Pollock painting show this process, which looks like a painterly dance.
 
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Here is a recording of Pollock describing his way of painting. It was taken from a movie the British Broadcasting Corporation made about the artist in nineteen ninety-nine.

 
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With paintings like "Lavender Mist" Jackson Pollock helped introduce the world to a whole new way of painting and thinking about art. But he did not live very long.  He died in a car accident in nineteen fifty-six at the age of forty-four.
 
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Experts say this museum is a cultural treasure.  It is the place where Jackson Pollock helped introduce the world to Abstract Expressionism. Pollock helped break the traditional rules of representation and established America as an important center for modern art.
 
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