Jackson Pollock, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)
The American Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock produced Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), a prime example of Action Painting. This large canvas, nearly 7 x 10 feet, was painted on the ground using his infamous “drip technique.” With carefully controlled movements, Pollock layered arcs and splatters of paint across the canvas. Pollock claimed, “When I am painting I have a general notion as to what I am about. I can control the flow of the paint. . . There is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end.” Pollock added the element of physicality to painting and established a new way of making art. His paintings created a sensation because they were unlike any art that had come before. Watch a video about Pollock’s painting process and explore the National Gallery of Art’s website on Lavender Mist.
National Gallery of Art’s website on Pollock’s painting
Video of Pollock on his process
Please post or comment on a fellow student’s post by May 19!
I don’t know where to begin; Mr. Pullock’s painting (Lavender Mist) is an exciting picture, even the title seems creative and it definitely pulls me in. Even though the paint seems to be scattered all over the place it haves a mellow feeling to it when I see it. In the video, when Mr. Pullock says “Because a painting have a life of its own, I try to let it live” makes me wonder to what exactly is he feeling for him to produce a work like this. As I see this picture, I begin to think that there is no central idea when it comes to this painting but his taught just leaked in a big piece of paper and he decided to go with it.
I do agree that lavender mist is an amazing painting that you just don’t know where to start from, from its name to the strokes of paint that my pullock has done. i do agree that even tho the painting is very and seems to go in a pattern its very calming and soothing it doesn’t give off a depressing sad kind of feeling rather its a more relaxing paint splattering in sort of a pattern. there is no main idea or big picture behind this painting but he just decides to go with the flow of the brush.
i would have to say that lavender mist is a very unique painting. it has so amazing strokes and the artist really knew how to change of the way it was painted.
i can honestly say this is my kind of art it shows different styles and it doesnt all seem the same as a regular painting any artist would choose to paint
its a very unique way that makes the art different and catches peoples attention more often for many individuals art is a way to escape and to learn about the different techniques of making something amazing
I agree it is a unique technique and that is what it is, a technique only he could perfect. Who could have thought you could control paint drips without it looking chaotic? it is so precise and quite ahead of his time. Pollock takes on modern art and moves it another direction. Oddly enough I’m sure he never intended for it but his painting probably coordinated beautifully in peoples homes.
I was introduced to the paintings of Jackson Pollock by a girl I dated years ago. She was an artist and was very much influenced by him. I was immediately hooked on his paintings and his unique approach that came to define him in his later years. His use of glass, pebbles, string, and nails in his painting process I find very cool and interesting. I didn’t know that his drip technique was developed later on until I watched the video. His earlier works such as “Going West” are so very different from his later paintings. I find his drip paintings to be very interesting and thought provoking. He was a true artistic original.
it was very daring of him to start doing this type of painting when everyone else was doing other types of paintings but the again this is how new periods are created and how art is changed. The people that dare to change the rules and come up with something different get praised. Even if the work of art is mediocre. I personally don’t enjoy looking at this painting because its boring to look at, when i think of a work of art i want to see shapes and a story but here there’s just organized drops and splashes of paint.
I don’t think Lavender Mist or Action Painting in general qualifies as art. Anybody can take a 7 x 10 foot canvas and drip paint on it and call it art. Make up a random style called the “drip technique.” But Jackson Pollock was lucky enough to be the one to first do it. I think he leaned on the canvas by accident leaving his palm print and covered it up saying he did it on purpose leaving his mark on the painting. I think that the “drip technique” take little to no skill to use. Give any inexperienced artist some paint to throw around on a huge canvas and he or she will create something similar.
I agree, I don’t think this is really art because all he did was move around a canvas dripping paint. That is something anyone can do, even a young kid. The “drip technique” that he made up isn’t really something that interesting because there really isn’t any technique to it.
I really do hate this kind of art. I feel like it’s just mixing a whole bunch of stuff together and calling it art. i dont see any significant meaning in this. i look at it and feel like im looking at a childs painting, saying it looks nice just to make the child feel better.
i do agree that his paintings aren’t really art. Its just like when a kid comes home with macaroni on a piece f paper and you say you lie it to see a smile. With him being older you would think that he would make something amazing. Paintings these days are not like paintings back then.
i think artists these days don’t have the same kind of skills and talent that artists beck in the good old days have. i like the i don’t think art these days have any sort of meaning like they did in the ancient times. nowadays artists are poor and cant afford to make a decent living from their art, but back then artists were very wealthy and their art was praised.
Im not a fan of most abstract art, but the video was interesting. It was cool how he videotaped the process of his painting. Its always exciting to see artists at work. I think the reason i found it intriguing is because it shows everything, how he did the drip technique and also because its an old video. I always find old creations eye opening; to see how people created art techniques with what little advancements there were at that point in time.
I believe the artist used his emotions of every color and its interaction with the canvas and other colors to mold and blend his thought processes together. I think this kind of painting is unique and to each his/her own. The artist found himself free in his way of addressing the aspects of color and his way of walking and approaching the art from all sides.
To see Pollocks art is both weird and different. Seeing art from ancient times from Greece, Rome and everywhere else to see what it has come too. Pollocks art is the new art and probably is a good way to get anger out and if you are stressed. To know that his painting have no beginning or end is impressive. You can not make a mistake on his canvas paintings.
I think it is interesting how he seems to be able to control his brush movements. Each brush movement is unique and different from the other, usually an artist has a particular way of moving the brush to create what they want. But Jackson Pollack has broken the boundaries of the norm, creating unforgettable works of art. He has changed the generation of classical artists and also made us question what is art.
It doesn’t look like he was controlling the movements at all. its all sloppily put together. Its not unique at all, just different. i doubt other artists who came before this guy would think this isn’t art at all.
This caught my attention at the MET back on a school trip in 2007; I took a picture of this painting because I enjoyed its craftsmanship and design. Without this class I do not think I would have ever known who the artist was until now. It is interesting to be able to come back to this painting and learn about Pollock’s infamous “drip technique”. I find it interesting that he had a home in long island; I would have expected an artist like him to live in the city where there is more action going on. It is amazing to see how much art has change from ancient art to abstract expressionism and so on.
I saw this types of abstract paintings when I went to MET. The first think my little brother said when he saw these paintings, he was like “hey I could make one of those paintings too, that’s not art”. Which made me laugh, but I looked at it and thought what the artist was thinking and what he was trying to achieve with this painting. I was trying to see if there was a hidden message but nothing came to my mind. Now going through abstract painting i was about to understand more about these paintings and how its also known as “action painting”.
Pollock’s declared intention was to express his feelings, not to describe them. And because the means employed to that were so closely identified with his mental and emotional life contributed to action painting, there was no need to do it any traditional technique, in any case could only have served to express an outlook at life.
i believe his creativity is awesome, his style and his originality definitly allowed other artists to get an influence from his style of paintings, the action painting with the strokes of colors and motions of the paint. i actually would love to do this type of painting myself or with a partner with many types of colors, i think it would be a really great experience.