Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), the subject of numerous essays, articles, and books, remains a controversial artist. He was dramatized in the 2000 movie Pollock.* Psychologists claim to see the workings of the subconscious in his paintings. In most cases, people imagine someone flinging paint with reckless abandon, eschewing a representational subject, and calling it “art.”
This example, Autumn No. 50 (23.1), has been hailed as one of Pollock’s best. Far from being random, it’s carefully composed in layers. The palette is limited to white, gray, blue, and black (23.2). Notice how many of the gestures fall short of the edge. The mass of strokes is contained within its frame: they form a field in the same proportion as the canvas’ dimensions.
TheMet has hung a Rothko painting next to the Pollock (23.0). Rothko is gestural too, except his marks are made with a wide, soft brush. Look closely and there is plenty of complex interaction of underpainting and color. While No. 16 deserves its own essay, compare for the moment how each painting has a careful relationship to its edges.
By happenstance, I passed a gallery that evening that displayed Pollock-like and Rothko-like paintings (23.3). The Rothko-derivative is an obvious knock-off of “No. 3/No. 13” in the MoMA (23.4). Compare the originals to the copies and you can understand the superiority of the museum paintings.
The fake-Pollocks don’t stop short of the edges. The paint strokes run right off the canvas edges. That’s not necessarily bad in itself, but it ignores Pollock’s compositional approach. The newer painter then throws in bright colors. In another case, the artist used fluorescent paint. It’s a bid to be more decorative and appeal to a naive buyer.
The fake-Rothko also tries to be “better.” It’s been given a shiny varnish. That glossiness sums up how the painting presents nothing in depth. It won’t make a person ponder.
That’s why people who say, “my kid could do that,” or that elephants make paintings too (23.5), are at best uninformed. You could certainly say anything that’s paint on canvas is art, but it’s ridiculous to say that it’s comparable to the first people who had the thought, courage, and devotion to make abstract art.
It’s not easy to be an artist. It’s not easy to look at art with understanding.
_________
No. 16. Mark Rothko (American (born former Russian Empire, now Latvia), Dvinsk 1903–1970 New York, New York). 1960. Oil on canvas. 8 ft. 6 in. × 9 ft. 11 1/2 in. × 1 3/4 in. (259.1 × 303.5 × 4.4 cm).
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/480911
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912–1956 East Hampton, New York). 1950. Enamel on canvas. 8 ft. 9 in. × 17 ft. 3 in. (266.7 × 525.8 cm). TheMet.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488978
No. 3/No. 13. Mark Rothko. 1949. 7′ 1 3/8″ x 65″ (216.5 x 164.8 cm). MoMA.