Jackson Pollock c/d?

however, still classic for inspiring the great early Stone Roses album covers. really, after the first album Squire should have just quit music and gone into painting.

I seem to recall the pre and post drip stuff being pretty lame, but I may be wrong.

http://jacksonpollock.org/

Time waster extraordinaire

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs014.snc3/12140_189549227864_502907864_2873444_1269094_n.jpg

fascist tool of the cia classic or dud

j/k

jackson pollock gives me a boner

don't know if anybody saw the doc "who the fuck is jackson pollock?" -- about a women who finds a painting she believes is a pollock at a thrift store & holds out for big money - but this follow-through article on it is fascinating & great reading. if you have seen the doc, and formed opinions about the major players, this article is a straightup incredible reveal

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/07/12/100712fa_fact_grann?currentPage=1

weird thread revive synchronicity, just today in a charity bkshop on sauchiehall street i bought, for 50pence, a copy of Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible by B. H. Friedman, 1995 Da Capo reissue of a 1972 biography, a bk that seems redolent of an art historical moment, a way of thinking/taking abt art/artists, now gone and never to return, and the whole thing made me sad, and the late photos of pollock fat and bearded and weary, like me, made me sad too

the bk's previous owner has underlined this quote by Betty Parsons abt Pollock - "He was always sad. He made you feel sad; even when he was happy, he made you feel like crying. There was a depression about him; there was something desperate."

haha i saw this doc on tv two days ago, totally fascinating.. reading article now

hoving seems kind of a dick

I saw the Ed Harris film tonight for the first time since it came out. I think he got about three-quarters of the way to a really good film. Too many scenes of Pollock flipping out--you've got to find a way to address that, but screaming and flipping over tables like Brando in Streetcar becomes tedious quickly. Other than that, there's a lot I like. I think the scenes of Pollock actually painting are very well done.

"You've done it Pollock, you've cracked it wide open" was a running joke with me and the lady for a while.

^^ yeah that is one of the ultimate "and that's JUST how it happened!" biopic moments of recent years

anyone who hates the drip paintings has never seen one in person imo

if they hate them after that, well i don't know what to tell you

It's been too long since I've seen this to really remember what I thought but Clemenza's post seems otm from what I do. I like Ed Harris in general though so I think I enjoyed it overall.

anyone who hates the drip paintings has never seen one in person imo

^ this

Also, for having a painting on the cover of Ornette's Free Jazz, and for being the subject of a lie Pete Townshend told to impress a girl in art school ("I just saw him give a lecture!" -- he'd been dead for at least four years), classic.

someone grab ben kingsley to make a ridiculous "last days of pablo p" biopic before it's too late

Another specious moment is when Harris spills the paint and you practically see the light bulb go off in his head. "You've done it, Pollock, you've just invented Abstract Expressionism." I don't know--maybe that's actually how it happened. The screening tonight was in conjunction with an exhibit at the AGO that I've got till Sept. 4 to see.

we should do a biopic poll. i would really like to see if we could come up with 20 that are non-laughable or enjoyable for reasons other than their silliness.

for the record, i will watch just about any biopic.

for once a poll i'd endorse

I think biopics can be pretty good in the absence of an actual documentary. When both exist--e.g., Milk and The Times of Harvey Milk--I'm not sure if I can think of a case where the biopic's better...There must be examples.

i am not saying there aren't good/great biopics btw! carlos was easily my fave film of 2010. plus i've learned to love the "and that's JUST how it happened!" moments.

cf. just about every minute of ray.

Loved Carlos the first time; when I watched it at home, and there was no longer the astounding surprise element with Wire and the Dead Boys turning up, I didn't like it quite as much. But that would definitely be one of the best I've ever seen.

i think pollock's works are pretty gorgeous in person -- it's a cliche but reproductions in books really can't do justice to the manic intricacy of the best ones, like 'lavender mist.' i like rothko even more, and kneejerk dismissals of his work seem even more common than with pollock.

i feel like it's extremely hard to judge any painting until you've seen it in person; renoir always seemed vaguely kitschy to me until i saw a few of his works at the national gallery and walked away feeling like i'd just heard 'god only knows' or watched an arizona sunset for the first time.

i felt the same way after seeing bieber in concert

Biopic poll is a good idea imo!

Anyone have an opinion on:

- the best Jackson Pollock book focused on the works - nice big photos of them, stories behind them, interpretation, whatever ... probably thinking more of a coffee table book here, but maybe not!

- the best Jackson Pollock biography

nice big photos of them

i love art books, but it's completely pointless in his case. they have to be seen in person, J.D. otm

probably thinking more of a coffee table book here, but maybe not!

yeah i would look for essays about his works instead

https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_226_300198614.pdf

https://terraingallery.org/aesthetic-realism-art-criticism/beauty-and-jackson-pollock-too-2/

I read this one (with a different cover) many years ago and have taken a lifetime interest in Pollock, so it must have tapped into something:

https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/b-h-friedman/jackson-pollock/9780306806643/

For big reproductions, this one (wisely bought a copy from a big book store going out of business 25 years ago--I remember balking at the time):

https://www.mullenbooks.com/pages/books/164698/bryan-robertson/jackson-pollock?soldItem=true

And (discussion above) Ed Harris's film is pretty good--much better than last year's Maestro, for sure.

(I haven't seen a lot of art in my lifetime, but I did get to see a huge Pollock canvas in New York once.)

I was gonna say
easy for me to say "see them in person" as I've lived in Manhattan most of my life.
I got to see the huge MoMA retrospective in 1998 (memorably, a couple of overdressed 'ladies who lunch' next to me stood in front of one of his murals trying to unfocus their gaze like it was a Magic Eye book, and one of them said to the other, without a trace of irony, "I see a bunny rabbit").
Autumn Rhythm is the one I have spent the most time with & is one of my favorite paintings.

I think reproductions are ok for his early works and drawings, and sort of acceptable for the transitional work like Sounds in the Grass.
For the monumental murals like Autumn Rhythm, forget it.

I don't know the book but like the title "Energy made visible"

This is the bio I read shortly after it came out. It was very good in my recollection:

https://www.nationalbook.org/books/jackson-pollock-an-american-saga/

Autumn Rhythm is one of my favorites.

I got to see the huge MoMA retrospective in 1998 (memorably, a couple of overdressed 'ladies who lunch' next to me stood in front of one of his murals trying to unfocus their gaze like it was a Magic Eye book, and one of them said to the other, without a trace of irony, "I see a bunny rabbit").

I saw that show too. Holy shit, that was 25 years ago? Anyway, it was incredible.

there's a biopic with Ed Harris, that should be enough

If you're at all interested in Pollock cheerleader (until he wasn't) Clement Greenberg--played by Jeffrey Tambor in the Harris film; hey now!--I recommend this:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374600396/thesullivanians

Greenberg was a longtime adherent who brought many others into the fold--an extremely disturbing cult after a while.

huh, that looks kinda good, I might check it out

I had an old beatnik boss, now deceased, that was involved in some kind of NYC cult in the 60's.. he moved out to West Marin County with some fellow members, they would sit in a circle and yell at each other... I wonder if this was the source

That sounds more like an Esalen thing. The Sullivans encouraged disciples to hate and disown their parents, never form a bonding relationship with one person, send their kids away for others to bring them up, and to be at the beck and call sexually of the four putative leaders. They weren't as bad early on when Greenberg was involved.

my unfashionable opinion is that Greenberg, for his many and obvious flaws, was a very good art critic up to a point. (and when he loses the plot he *really* flies off the rails, so at least it's entertaining)

i'm just now remembering, there was a jazz album to accompany that 1998 retrospective, right? a mux cd of stuff they thought might have inspired him, or at least a recommended playlist.

I got to see the huge MoMA retrospective in 1998 (memorably, a couple of overdressed 'ladies who lunch' next to me stood in front of one of his murals trying to unfocus their gaze like it was a Magic Eye book, and one of them said to the other, without a trace of irony, "I see a bunny rabbit").

I saw that show too. Holy shit, that was 25 years ago? Anyway, it was incredible.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Thursday, June 6, 2024 5:10 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I believe I saw that show on November 1, 1998, the day it opened. I know because I went to the Joni Mitchell-Bob Dylan show at MSG that evening.

https://www.discogs.com/release/4460129-Various-Jackson-Pollock-Jazz

can we just call him JackPole from here on out

I saw that show too. Holy shit, that was 25 years ago? Anyway, it was incredible.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Thursday, June 6, 2024 5:10 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I believe I saw that show on November 1, 1998, the day it opened. I know because I went to the Joni Mitchell-Bob Dylan show at MSG that evening.

― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR)

I have the leaflets from this in a folder of paper ephemera from the time (setlists I yoinked from gigs at Maxwell's, etc)
It wasn't where I looked for it tho

Post them if you find them!