Erica Gamester - Pollock Movie


"Every good painter paints what he is ".
Jackson Pollock


In this movie, Jackson Pollock is depicted as an artistic individual with alcoholism and depression, plagued by frequent manic episodes. Throughout this time frame, Pollock experienced phases of sobriety, yet returned to old drinking habits. While Pollock exudes a depressed demeanor, the movie itself is not generically depressing as it intends to depict the laborious nature of his artworks as he concurrently struggles with postwar obstacles.

In the film, Pollock portrays a sense of freedom when he paints and creates his artistic works. He is struck by inspiration and utilizes large canvases stretched upon the wall or the floor. This interactionist aspect between painter and painting allowed Pollock to become enveloped in his art work, leaving a piece of himself behind.

Pollock's artistic style was based in surrealism, similar to that of Picasso. However, in the movie Pollock explicitly curses Picasso, presumably due to a sense of rivalry in artistic comparison. His wife states that Pollock's art is an expression of the subconscious, a cognitive state that is not based upon previous earthly impressions, alluding to Plato's notion of art as form. According to Plato's theory, artistic renderings brings the viewer further away from understanding its "ultimate form" - Therefore, Pollock's abstract style is a perceived to be a complete step back from the truest form, as it involves undefinable and inconsistent shapes to describe an already earthly, incomplete form. However, Pollock attempts to capture the feelings of emotion through his artwork, which is subjective in of itself. If there are no true forms or manifestations of feelings, is Pollock's artwork considered to be a form or the ultimate form? or some grey area in-between?

Further reflection: Similar to the life stories Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, do great artists arise from hardship and struggle? What factors prevents these artists from receiving acknowledgement and fame within their lifetime, rather hindsight praise through the study of art history?

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