Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, art historians Steven and Beth discuss Jackson Pollock's monumental painting 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They explore how Pollock's abstract expressionism, characterized by spontaneous movements and unconventional materials like house paint, represents a break from traditional art forms. The conversation delves into post-World War II anxieties and the search for new artistic languages, reflecting the existential fears of the era. Pollock's process, akin to a jazz musician improvising, emphasizes emotion, movement, and the physical act of painting, creating a raw, dynamic canvas.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Jackson Pollock's painting 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)' is a massive 17-foot-wide artwork originally created in 1950.
- 🖼️ The painting reflects the post-World War II anxiety, a period marked by the Cold War, nuclear threats, and the Holocaust's aftermath.
- 🌀 Pollock was a leading figure in abstract expressionism, a movement that emphasized angst and existential themes.
- 💥 The abstraction in Pollock's work represents a departure from naturalism, embracing a new artistic language for the modern era.
- 🎭 The artist's technique involves spontaneous, unintentional movements, drawing on raw emotion and existential reflection.
- 🖌️ Pollock's method involved using house paint on unprimed canvas, allowing the paint to soak into the fabric and create unique textures.
- 📏 The painting's scale and method of creation harken back to large-scale murals, inspired by artists like Diego Rivera and Siqueiros.
- 🎷 Pollock's approach is often compared to jazz musicians, improvising and 'riffing' with their instruments to create something spontaneous and alive.
- 🕊️ The lack of conscious planning in Pollock's work is a deliberate rejection of traditional art processes like drawing and compositional organization.
- 🖼️ The texture of 'Autumn Rhythm' includes seeping paint, splashes, cracks, and a variety of matte and shiny surfaces, creating a complex visual experience.
Q & A
What is the title of the painting discussed in the script, and how did it evolve over time?
-The painting is titled 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).' Originally, Jackson Pollock titled it 'Number 30,' but later renamed it 'Autumn Rhythm.' The museum compromised by combining both names.
Why does the speaker mention projecting their own feelings into the painting during the pandemic?
-The speaker feels they might be projecting their own darkness into the painting due to the context of the pandemic and the impending presidential election. The artwork's creation just after World War II also evokes feelings of anxiety and existential dread.
What themes and emotions are often associated with Pollock's abstract expressionism?
-Themes of angst and anxiety are dominant in Pollock's work, reflective of the post-war moment. His abstract expressionism grapples with existential issues and human existence, particularly during the Cold War and after the horrors of World War II.
Why did Pollock and other abstract expressionists move away from naturalism and figuration?
-Pollock and other abstract expressionists felt that naturalism and figuration were no longer sufficient to express the complexities of the post-war world. They sought a new artistic language that could address existential concerns and delve into more universal, abstract ideas.
How did Pollock’s method differ from traditional painting techniques?
-Unlike traditional painters who meticulously planned compositions and primed canvases, Pollock worked spontaneously, using unprimed canvases and house paint. He let the paint fall onto the canvas without touching it, embracing chance and physical movement in the process.
What historical influences might have shaped Pollock's large-scale paintings?
-Pollock was influenced by the large-scale murals of Mexican artists like Diego Rivera and Siqueiros. These murals were created for the public, emphasizing art's accessibility and impact on society, which may have inspired Pollock's use of enormous canvases.
Why is Pollock’s painting technique compared to a jazz musician’s improvisation?
-Pollock's technique is likened to a jazz musician's improvisation because both involve tremendous skill combined with spontaneity. Pollock 'riffed' with his paint, allowing his unconscious and the emotion of the moment to guide his work, much like a jazz musician improvises during a performance.
What effect does painting on unprimed canvas have on Pollock’s work?
-By painting on unprimed canvas, Pollock allowed the paint to seep into the fabric, creating a direct interaction between the paint and the canvas. This method produced a unique texture and depth that would have been different if the canvas had been primed.
What range of textures and visual effects can be observed in 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)'?
-The painting exhibits a wide range of effects: paint seeping into the fabric, splashes and dots that evoke a night sky, areas where paint has pooled and cracked, as well as both soft, atmospheric and sharp, linear forms. There are also contrasts between matte and shiny sections.
How did Pollock's physical movements influence the final appearance of his painting?
-Pollock's large, rhythmic movements across the canvas are reflected in the trails of paint. His gestures, flinging paint onto the canvas, created a visual record of his movement through time and space, making the surface of the painting a kind of stage for his physical actions.
Outlines
🎨 Pollock's 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)' and its Post-War Context
The scene is set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the large painting 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)' by Jackson Pollock is on display. Steven and Beth discuss the complexities of the painting, noting its creation in 1950 during a time of global anxiety following World War II. Beth relates her feelings of darkness during the pandemic and impending election to the work, which was painted in the aftermath of the war and amidst Cold War tensions. Steven highlights the angst and anxiety of the post-war period, including the threat of nuclear bombs and the recent revelations of the Holocaust, suggesting that these factors influenced abstract expressionists like Pollock.
🖌️ Pollock’s Break from Traditional Art Forms
Beth and Steven discuss how artists, including Pollock, sought new ways to express the complexities of the post-war era, turning away from traditional forms of naturalism. They suggest that the old artistic language from the Renaissance wasn't sufficient to convey the existential anxieties of the time. Steven reflects on how abstract expressionists moved away from figuration and the representation of the human body, instead exploring themes related to human existence and the threat of its extinction. Pollock’s art was a response to the limitations of surrealism and previous forms of abstraction, diving deeper into unconscious expression.
🎷 Spontaneity and Unintentional Creativity
Steven and Beth delve into the influence of surrealism and the unconscious on Pollock’s process. They reference the idea, dating back to Dada and surrealism, that the rational mind hinders creativity, and that by stepping out of the way, artists could tap into something more elemental and universal. Pollock’s radical departure from representational art marked a high point in modernism. His art was not rooted in nature but in abstract expression, focusing on his inner movements and emotions. Steven draws an analogy between Pollock’s process and a jazz musician, who uses technical skill to improvise and create in the moment.
🖼️ Pollock’s Unique Painting Process
Beth and Steven describe Pollock's unconventional approach to painting, noting that he didn’t paint directly on a primed canvas but let the paint fall onto raw canvas. Beth contrasts this with centuries of traditional art, where artists meticulously prepared their work. Pollock’s use of house paint and his decision to avoid fine art materials represented a break with tradition, aligning his work more with real-world materials and concerns. Beth links Pollock’s large-scale canvases to the Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera, whose public works addressed social issues, suggesting Pollock was similarly interested in creating art on a monumental scale.
🎶 The Rhythm of Pollock’s Painting
Steven compares Pollock’s painting style to jazz, emphasizing the spontaneity and improvisation in his work. Beth and Steven discuss how Pollock’s choice to use unprimed canvas allowed the paint to seep into the fabric, creating varied textures. From close-up, viewers can see a range of effects: splashes, atmospheric areas, shiny and matte surfaces, and dried, cracked paint. Stepping back, the viewer sees Pollock’s large rhythmic movements as he flung the paint, letting gravity pull it onto the canvas. Steven notes that the painting’s vertical display obscures Pollock’s original horizontal process, where he worked above the canvas, treating it as an arena for action.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Abstract Expressionism
💡Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
💡Cold War
💡Existentialism
💡Surrealism
💡Spontaneity
💡Action painting
💡Raw canvas
💡Jazz
💡Post-war art
Highlights
The painting being discussed is Jackson Pollock's 'Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)', originally titled 'Number 30'.
The painting is 17 feet wide and was created in 1950, during the post-World War II era.
The conversation touches on how the painting evokes personal emotions, influenced by the current context of the pandemic and an upcoming presidential election.
Pollock was one of the leading figures in the abstract expressionist movement, a group of artists grappling with post-war angst and existential anxiety.
The abstract expressionists, including Pollock, sought new artistic languages to express the trauma and complexity of the post-World War II period, moving away from traditional naturalism.
Pollock’s work reflects a profound shift from representational art to pure abstraction, symbolizing the upending of image-making traditions.
The painting was made in Pollock's small studio in East Hampton, where he unrolled the canvas on the floor and applied paint without touching it directly with a brush.
Pollock used unconventional materials like house paint and enamel, breaking with fine art traditions to bring art into the real world.
Pollock's process involved physical movements over the canvas, letting the paint fall naturally, drawing parallels to the improvisation of jazz musicians.
Pollock intentionally painted on unprimed canvas so the paint could seep into the surface, achieving a raw, immediate effect.
The surface of the painting reveals diverse textures—areas where paint seeped into the fabric, splashed, pooled, dried, and cracked—offering a variety of visual experiences.
Pollock’s use of large canvases is reminiscent of the grand scale of Mexican muralists like Siqueiros and Diego Rivera, whose works were created for the masses, not private collectors.
Pollock’s art captures a balance between spontaneity and control, with his unconscious emotions guiding the painting process.
The painting acts as a register of Pollock's physical movements and gestures, turning the canvas into a stage where he performed his art.
The conversation reflects on how the vertical display of the painting in museums contrasts with how Pollock created it horizontally on the floor, influencing how it is perceived by viewers.
Transcripts
(jazz music)
- [Steven] We're in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
looking at an enormous painting by Jackson Pollock.
This is 17 feet wide and he originally titled it "Number 30"
but then later "Autumn Rhythm."
So the museum is creating a compromise
and they're calling it "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)".
- [Beth] This is a complicated painting.
And for some reason to me today
in the midst of the pandemic,
less than two weeks before a presidential election,
I feel like I might be projecting some of my own darkness
into this painting that I know is painted in 1950,
just five years after the end of World War II.
- [Steven] A lot of the discussion
about the abstract expressionists
of which Pollock was one of the leading figures
deals with the issue of an angst and anxiety.
These were issues that were dominant in the post-war moment.
1950 was the Cold War.
The atomic bombs were threatening
in a way that had never happened before in human history.
The enormity of the Holocaust
had been revealed only a few years earlier.
- [Beth] And there were the trials of Nazis
that went on for years after the end of the war.
I can imagine there was a sense for artists
that a new language was needed to express
this post World War II era
and that the old systems of naturalism
coming out of the Renaissance
was not a language that was viable
given the new circumstances.
- [Steven] I think a number of artists
didn't feel that naturalism, that figuration,
the representation of the human body was going to cut it.
They were looking for something that was more profound,
that was able to grapple with existential issues,
issues of human existence and the potential extinguishing
of human existence.
- [Beth] If you think about the decade or two before this,
we have surrealism and this interest in the unconscious
and delving beyond the conscious everyday mind
and looking for a greater, deeper truth
about human existence, about the way our minds work.
- [Steven] Well, there was this idea
that goes back to the surrealist.
It goes back even to Dada,
that the conscious rational mind got in the way,
that it was antithetical to the creative impulse,
that if we could somehow step out of the way
and allow something more elemental,
more unintentional to come to the fore,
that would somehow be more truthful and more universal.
What we're seeing is a high point in modern art,
where artists were stepping away from the representation
of nature,
something that had been central to the making of art,
this interest in something that was not abstract in nature,
but it was purely abstract.
It's radicality can't be overstated.
This was completely upending the traditions of image-making.
He's turning away from the representation of nature
and looking into himself, his own physical movements,
his own emotional state at this specific moment in time.
- [Beth] So we're not looking at,
for example, analytic cubism, which is an abstraction
from nature where Picasso takes a guitar
and disassembles it into geometric forms,
but here, he's not starting from nature,
but starting from the place of an individual
in a moment in time.
- [Steven] And in a particular place,
this was made in his studio, a small barn
in the back of the house at Jackson Pollock
and Lee Krasner's property
out in the Springs in East Hampton.
It's a relatively small space.
This is an enormous canvas, he unrolled it on the floor.
He didn't prime it, he didn't add gesso.
He didn't seal the surface.
He painted directly on the raw canvas,
but I can't say even that he painted it,
he didn't touch the canvas with his brush.
He moved over the canvas and let paint fall on it.
- [Beth] So there is a kind of rawness.
For centuries, whenever an artist painted,
not only did they prime the canvas,
but they most often prepared drawings,
organize the composition, thought it through.
There was a real intentionality and consciousness.
That was an important part of the value of a work of art.
- [Steven] And here he's flipping that value on its head.
Pollock used house paint, that black is an enamel.
It's a break with the refinements of fine art materials,
bringing art into the real world.
And that's a reminder that Pollock had been,
especially earlier in his career,
interested in social issues.
This is an enormous canvas that might remind us
of large scale mural paintings.
- [Beth] So he's looking back
to the great Mexican muralists
like Siqueiros and Diego Rivera,
and thinking about the enormous scale of those murals
and in art, that was not a small paintings for a collector,
but large paintings for the masses.
- [Steven] What Pollock is after here
is a kind of spontaneity, it's an immediate invention.
He's drawing on his tremendous skill,
but he's then letting loose, and probably the best analogy
is to a highly accomplished jazz musician.
Somebody who can play the saxophone or the piano
with extraordinary skill,
but then allows themselves to riff,
allows themselves to play and allows the unconscious
and the moment to come to the fore.
- [Beth] And the emotion of the moment
becomes the guiding principles.
- [Steven] And I want to go back to a point
you made a moment before
he's not painting on unprimed canvas,
simply to break with tradition.
He wants the paint to seep in and stay in the canvas itself,
not to ride on its surface always.
And so there was a specific quality that was achievable
because the paint was in direct contact
with the weave of the cloth.
- [Beth] And there's so many ways
that we experienced the paint here.
We see areas where it did seep into the fabric.
We see dots that look like splashes.
We see other dots that have a feeling of a night sky.
We see areas where the paint has pulled up and dried
and cracked.
We see areas where the paint is soft and atmospheric,
areas where it's sharp and linear, where it's matte,
areas where it's shiny.
There's so much to explore when you got up close.
- [Steven] But then you can also pull back
and you can see these long trails of paint.
And you can imagine the artist moving around
and rhythmically with large arching motions,
flinging that paint into the air
and allowing gravity to pull it down.
The surface of this painting then becomes of register
of Pollock's movement through time and through space.
It becomes a kind of stage.
And in one sense, it's a shame
that the painting is vertical hanging on the wall
because it was made horizontally, he was over it.
And sometimes when I walk up to a Pollock,
I'll look at it from the side and tilt my head
so I can look across it the way he saw it,
more as an arena to act in than a canvas to look at it.
(jazz music)
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