The rebel hero of Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)
careened through his life like a firework across the American art
landscape. Channeling ideas from sources as diverse as Picasso and
Mexican surrealism, he rejected convention to develop his own way of
seeing, interpreting, and expressing.
Pollock's most famous works are his drip paintings, where he dripped and
poured household enamel paint over the canvas with a variety of
instruments, from sticks to syringes, hardened brushes to broken bits of
glass. The splattered results pulsate with energy, replacing the
refinement of easel and brush with something altogether more immediate,
vivid, and physical. To evade the viewer's search for figurative
elements in his paintings, Pollock abandoned titles and identified each
work with a neutral number only.
Notoriously reclusive and volatile, struggling with alcoholism, married
to fellow Abstract Expressionist Lee Krasner, and killed in a car crash
aged just 44, Pollock is as much a compelling celebrity icon as an
artistic pioneer. This essential artist introduction explores both his
work and his fame to shed light on masterpieces of the modernist story,
and the making of a cultural icon.
About the series
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the
best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's
Basic Art series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist,
covering his or her cultural and historical importance
a concise biography
approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
