The Daily Book of Art

DAY 114

PROFILES IN ART

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

LEAVING ART TO CHANCE

“On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally ‘in’ the painting.” —Jackson Pollock, 1947.

 

As unpredictable as the ocean’s waves, the art of Jackson Pollock ebbs and flows to the rhythm of its own creation. Although the American-born artist found inspiration in Surrealism, Mexican muralist painters, and Native American art, among other things, his distinctly progressive philosophies challenged the 20^th-century American art establishment.

 

While Pollock ...