Jackson Pollock's Art at the Time

Beth Greenburg and Harold Rosenberg, two well respected art critics from post World War II contended that post modernist paintings were apolitical and purely forms of self expression in subject matter. Suspicious though had surmounted by administration officials under president Harry Truman, George C Marshall and the CIA aledging that in collaboration with the Avant Garde Society after WWII, these artist's creative individualism projected communist undertones. Initially a diplomatic art exhibit funded by Truman's newly created Office of International Information and Cultural Affairs was meant to demonstrate to a war torn world about the cultural progress and aesthetic identity of United States. Such a diplomatic showcase was a way to convey compelling understanding of our country beyond just automobiles, manufacturing and Hollywood. In one of the initial projects commissioned by this government office was a traveling exhibit of American paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Arther Dove and others that moved through museums in Latin America, Paris and Prague to great critical acclaim.

However speculation grew that the artist's presumably could support procommunist ideology and thus ridicule from the media ensued that the government would fund such a project. Thus Secretary of State George C. Marshall pulled the plug, auctioned the works for considerably less than the original $49,000 that was paid for the seventy-nine paintings and issued a statement claiming that no Modern Art would be purchased with tax payer money again.

And so the art movements that spawned largely out of reaction from the devastation of the first World War included the start of Dadaism. This movement intended to depict an apathetic view of the world. Artists shared a belief that nationalistic concepts such as colonialism, aggrandizement and capitalism led countries into WWI. Artists such as Hannah Hoch, represented some of the original thematic transformations for how this movement differed from the more logical representation in art that had popularly existed before. Thus the movement Dadaism, also described as "anti-art" was a symbol of the irrationality of a society engulfed in fatality. The progression of this vastly popular genre after gaining traction in European cultural centers, North America, and Soviet Bloc countries set the ground work for later movements like surrealism that ventured deeper into the human psyche to express depictions of subconscious delusionism.

A resounding characteristic of the enormous amount of talented painters, writers, performers and thinkers that were involved in the nonconformist approach to society, found their free expression to be the tool that defined the thought for much of the population's suppressed individualism. Few other artists questioned the artistic standard of the day like Jackson Pollock whose tenant of belief was that the work leading up to the production of a piece of art is just as important as the rendering of the work itself. His style and methodology called "action-painting" had not been utilized before and involved the notorious assemblage of mediums without regard for shape or subject. Using large canvasses and excessive amounts of paint to arbitrarily coat a painting with beautiful splatters and a conglomeration of color kept him scrutinized by purist art dealers but largely recognized by the less traditional patrons. His unfortunate death at the age 44 from a car accident was suffered from his alcoholism and intoxication at the time. His younger years were growing up mostly in Northern California before moving briefly to Los Angeles for school and then settling in and around Long Island, NY with his wife Lee. Of what are considered his major works, nearly 40 stand out as masterpieces that were produced during 1942-53. Prices for his art sold in the last several years have fetched tens of millions and one astoundingly figure of $140mm for his painting titled no. 5. Pollock had chosen to emphasize the sheer visual imagery of his paintings in 1949 by deciding to title his paintings going forward only by number rather than a description to avert any connection to larger meaning in his work. 2012 marks the centennial of Pollock's birth.

          Starlet Actress Worthy of a Biopic: Lindsay Lohan

          Strong Names go Well Together: Jennifer Anniston

          Watch a Few Videos below!!