From Realism through the postmodern era

From Realism through the postmodern era

Jackson Pollock was one of the famous artists between 1912 and1956. He is well known for his contribution in pioneering the post-World War II art movement (Raverty, 2002).  His artistic style was unconventionally and his painting famously known as convergence made him famous in 1952 (Sayre, 2007). His painting style was different from other artistic and many considered it important and innovative development of art history. The main reason why his paintings were considered important and innovative is that his style was free and agitated for freedom of the people from oppression during the World War II.  The paintings were splashes of colors that provided a different experience to the lives of the people. They motivated and provided hope for the people. Even though, he was criticized by many people about the paintings as lacking meaning and reasoning, many appreciated the paintings for their hidden meaning. Second reason is that his pieces of art represented shift or a rebirth/transformation in art, culture and thinking. It provided a new dimension of the way people thought and interacted. The painting deviated from the normal pieces of art because they triggered a person to thin and find out the meaning. This made them popular as they triggered a lot of attention from many people during 1950s.

This piece was actually one of its kind that set the stage for artistic to be much creative and take art to greater heights. This is supported by Spolin (1986) who  asserts that Jackson  communicated his own mind and thoughts  through the pictures without relying on the collective thoughts  or on what the society had taught him (Jackson, 2009). Jackson demonstrated his capabilities and creativity through his paintings. He expressed his anguish and dissatisfaction with the events happening through the paintings that really captured the interest of the society and educated the society about freedom and rebellion. He is also categorized as being innovative because no other artists had demonstrated the level of creativity he did. He came up with different styles of painting that was new to majority of the people. The fact that no other artists had ever painted such drawings as showed that he was creative and innovative.

These therefore made his art stand out as innovative and relevant. Soussloff (2004) argues that the artist was innovative and a source of inspiration when constructing and presenting his message to the audience. Furthermore, his work focused on the realities that the society went through and denounced political gestures that seemed to deny the people their rights (Kramer, 1999). His painting was very rebellious and at the same time demonstrating the need for freedom. The techniques adopted by the art are different. The artists spread colors on a canvas that conveyed a message (Karmel, 1999).  The influence that made him to adopt this art was the circumstances during that time, the war and the oppression/rebellions that were witnessed in the World War II. The work fitted the era as well as the art movement because it rhymed with what was going on at the ground. People were fighting for their freedoms and rights. In early 1940s to 1950s, many nations were involved in war and therefore, Jackson used his paintings to create to illustrate the situation.  Even though, the paintings looked sketchy, they carried important message to the society.  People were engaged in war and rebellious. The moods that the paintings portrays was sad and therefore, resonated to the situation at that time.

References

Jackson, P. (2009). Convergence Jigsaw Puzzle. In Pomegranate’s Secure, Online Store. Retrieved September 18, 2012, from      http://pomegranate.stores.yahoo.net/aa558.html

Karmel, P. (1999). Jackson Pollock interviews, articles, and reviews. New York:    Museum of Modern Art: Distributed by H.N. Abrams.

Kramer, H.  (1999).   Jackson Pollock & the New York School, II. New Criterion, 17. 6:   12.

Raverty, D, (2002).  The Needs of Postwar America and the Origins of the Jackson Pollock Myth.Midwest Quarterly, 43.3:337.

Sayre, H. M. (2007). A World of Art (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice             Hall.

Soussloff, C. (2004). Jackson Pollock’s Post-Ritual Performance: Memories Arrested in     Space. TDR: The Drama Review, 48.1: 60-78

Spolin, V. (1986). Theater Games for the Classroom A Teacher’s Handbook. New York: Northwestern UP.

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