Tedesha Henry

1. Explain the initial reaction to his “all over” paintings by critics and the public. What important critic was an early supporter of Pollock’s work? (see video)
The initial reactions to Pollock’s works by both critics and the public were disdainful. There seemed to a lack of understanding towards Pollock’s style of “drip painting”, with most not recognizing the new technique as true art. Clement Greenberg who was notably one of the most influential art critics of the twentieth century and an avid supporter of the Abstract Expressionism movement was also a important supporter of Pollock’s work.
2. Using language and terms that are related to the critique of art, compare one of Pollock’s earlier works with his drip paintings.
The ”She-Wolf “ was Pollock’s 1943 piece that was featured in one of his solo exhibitions and his first piece that was entered into a museum collection. This piece of art was made before the artist discovered his famous drip style of painting that he became later famous for. The technique used to create this piece is far different from the artist later work. This piece features heavy black and white line drawn by the artist onto his canvas verses the light splatters of paint featured in his later pieces. Among the major differences found in this piece versus works from Pollock’s drip period are at the brushstrokes. During his drip period Pollock used sticks as a method of transporting paint onto his canvasses, in this piece you can see the strokes from the classic paintbrush was used. Secondly the subject matter also can be seen as a difference between the two periods in the artist’s professional life. During the period when “She Wolf” was created most artists including Pollock were focusing and exploring themes of a primitive or mythological background. “She Wolf” is said to be the story of the birth of a mythological Roman city. The subject matter during the artists drip period shifted dramatically from these themes to a more abstract subject.

3. Based on your knowledge of Pollock’s life and work, explain why Pollock eventually returned to semi-figurative style of his earlier painting.
During his later life Pollock seemed to have reverted to the techniques used in his old works. He started incorporating the colors and figures featured in the works from his earlier life. There were many speculations about why he did this but in my opinion Pollock digging into his past was due to several factors. One of these being the criticism he got from the works from his drip period. Although these pieces would later go over millions, at the time many say them as something that could be do it on by a lay person and were truly art. So he might've been searching for technique that could show his true artistic skills in the eyes of the public and critics. Another reason I see that he would go back would be the fact that at this point he discovered the group technique maybe he was looking for his next big thing and felt that in order to do so he would have to revert this past in order to be inspired to create greatness in his future.