Pollock: Veiling the Image

by Donald Wigal

Born in 1912, in a small town in Wyoming, Jackson Pollock embodied the American dream as the country found itself confronted with the realities of a modern era replacing the fading nineteenth century. Pollock left home in search of fame and fortune in New York City. Thanks to the Federal Art Project, he quickly won acclaim, and after the Second World War became the biggest art celebrity in America. For De Kooning, Pollock was the "icebreaker." For Max Ernst and Masson, Pollock was a fellow member of the European surrealist movement. And for Motherwell, Pollock was a legitimate candidate for the status of the Master of the American School. During the many upheavals in his life in New York in the 1950s and 60s, Pollock lost his bearings--success had simply come too fast and too easily. It was during this period that he turned to alcohol and disintegrated his marriage to Lee Krasner. His life ended, like that of 50's film icon James Dean, behind the wheel of his Oldsmobile, after a night of drinking. This book throws light on a new era in art and on the personality of Pollock, the undisputed master of Abstract American Expressionism.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2006

Reviews

[Viking One · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never liked Jackson Pollock's works, nor him as a human being. He was a glorified drunk who killed an innocent woman because of his thirst. I read this book after reading Peggy Guggenheim's autobiography to try to understand why she thought Pollock was the most influencial artist of the last century. This books does little to nothing to explain Pollock's creative impulses, his psyche or anything else. It starts promisingly with a raccount of this early years, but then it gets lost like a person trying to follow a path in one drip painting by Pollock. Don't bother with this one, invest your time in something more gratifying.

[Catalina Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es impresionante como un artista de expresionismo abstracto, lucho durante sus años de gloria contra sus propios demonios y contra los demonios críticos que definían su arte como caos, cuando claramente era parte de la naturaleza, ya que su técnica permitía que se crearán fractales dentro de su obra... pintor de corrientes como Picasso, Matisse y Miró....

[Chris Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but I'd question the suitability of some of the sources used: Updike's 'Seek My Face' is a work of fiction and Ed Harris' film 'Pollock' contains an element of theatrical licence. (The Harris film was actually based on the biography by Naifeh and Smith, so why not go to that instead?)