Jackson Pollack and Jasper John: Art Analysis - Essay Example

Lavender Mist (1950) by Jackson Pollack and Flag (1954-1955) by Jasper Johns: A Comparison JacksonPollock, and Pollack influenced Jasper Johns are two contemporary American Artists who broke boundaries in the use of medium and color. Through inventive techniques, the two artists both found ways to express themselves without adhering to conformities that directed the viewer on how to think about the art that was being viewed. Pollack used layers of dripped paint, heavy with both texture and movement, in order to express his vision. Johns, who was greatly influenced by the work of Pollack, used encaustic, collage techniques, and oil paints to create many of his works, which did express a thematic continuity during some of his periods which reflected a commentary through the use of the flag. The two artists created some of the more fascinating and profound work of the 20th century, with pieces that reflect the aesthetics of the American artistic culture. The lives of Jackson Pollack and Jasper Johns were set on two unique trajectories, having very different experiences and coming from very different points of view. Pollack was tormented, an alcoholic who died at the age of 44 in a traffic accident (Ratcliff 3) Johns is still alive today and has spent his life finding ways in which to promote himself in the public eye, making him a very commercially successful artist(Answers.com). Pollack spent a mere eleven years in his fame where Johns is still famous and still a prominent figure in the art world. Both artists, however, had very strong personalities, their masculinity and strength coming through the work that they created. Through looking at Lavender Mist (1950, also known as Number 1, 1950) by Jackson Pollack and Flag (1954-1955) by Jasper Johns, one can see evidence of the ways in which they were unique, and the influence that Pollack had within the work of Johns. When in 1947 Pollock began to explore the nature of what he would call ‘action painting’, it is more than likely that he did not comprehend the importance his work would hold on the American art world. According to Greenberg, Jordan and Parker, his work created ‘energy and motion made visible”, which suggested to viewers of his pieces a new way in looking at expressions from artists (29). The pieces are revolutionary and rich in their expressive nature, without a developed theme or explicit representation. Through the work that he created he became the most important figure of American art history, and thus produced work that will remain important as long as the American culture exists, perhaps extending well beyond that time. In looking at a piece done by Pollock, the visceral reaction might be to feel that it has no meaning and is nothing more than a series of scribbles. The way in which the scribbling is configured might have graphic value, but surely there is not much more to the piece. However, in examining the work further, it begins to take on an elegance, an emotional venue in which the viewer begins to feel rather than analyze the work. In looking at Lavender Mist (1950), one begins to see the use of light and the balance of color against color. Color, space and light become the focus of the work (Golding 333). The work is engaged within its space, movement and action drawing the viewer into its confines through the repetitious, yet non-conforming movement within the space. Of the pieces o ‘action painting’ done by Pollock, this piece uses considerably more light and less contrast, with moments of explosive darkness that pulse within its framework. Johns, on the other hand, works in a much more confined space, his pieces reflecting meaning, abstracted from an inner dialogue that is both known and unknown by those who study his art. His pieces were done in multi-media formats, the use of collage a common element in his work. He would start with a collage, then use paint over top of it, obscuring much of what was underneath, but allowing the context of the work to come through in glimpses. Influences of Pollock are visible in his pieces, but also the influence of his long-time lover Robert Rauschenberg, whose ’combines’ used heavy collage technique to bring together found objects to form an editorial (Levin 161). While Rauschenberg and Johns shared the technique of collage, their work was very different with the work of Johns seeming to reflect the aesthetics of Duchamp through his use of iconic imagery and a resurrection of the French Dadaists through his use of graphics to denote his themes and implications (McDonough, Gregg, and Wong 794). The work of Pollack was intensely masculine, even in his almost feminine choice of direction for Lavender Mist (1950), its name reflective of a colloquial name for a species of flower and the color lavender more often associated with feminine choices. Despite the fact that patriotism belongs to both men and women, Johns reflected a masculinity in his work as well, its structured and defined lines rigid and brazen. In his work Flag (1954-1955) one sees the severe and defined lines separating the the bands of color, the stripes of the flag defined by dirty white that and the red a movement of paint texture that varies in color due to the processes underneath. Beneath the paint and beneath the encaustic dribbles that form a sheer barrier, lies the collage work, a series of textually printed pieces which appear to be on newspaper. As an example of some of the text seen under the work is an advertisement that is emblazoned with the word ‘manufacturing’, the intent of the advertisement to seeming to be for warehouse space within a manufacturing district. This piece of advertisement might be construed as a suggestion of the consumerist nature of the capitalist society that is the United states. Beneath the telltale stripes of red and white, lies the foundation of the culture, a representation of the basis of the society in which Americans live. The news can be seen to represent the information of the news, the communications that was on the rise during the 1950s as a form of increasing commerce and consumerist activities. Where Pollack gives no textual element to his work, no way in which to create a discourse on the nature of his expressionistic intent directly from the piece, Johns creates a piece in which the foundation of the work is all text, literal and relevant to the overall interpretation that a viewer will have on the work. One can decide to interpret the Pollack piece through its activity, the commentary becoming one of chaos that is controlled by order, or through an understanding of the flash of emotions that may be visible to the viewer. It should be noted that Pollack had an obsession with the life beyond death and his work can be analyzed with this obsession in mind. He often included his own hand print, which is visible in Lavender Mist (1950), but less so than in other pieces of his ‘action painting. “Where was the beginning, the middle and end of his pictures?” asked George Segal. “How could he fly and still be rooted to cigarette butts and his own handprints” (Karmel 190). The size of the work is very different. Pollack worked in large canvases, his piece Lavender Mist (1950) measuring 87 X 118 inches is impressive and creates a strong impact on the viewer. The oddity about the title in comparison to the work is that there is no lavender used within the painting, but because of the combination of the hues, a lavender glow becomes visible. Thus, it is named after this mystery, a mystery that is easily defined of course, but still a visual mystery because of its impact on the viewer. The work currently hangs in the National Gallery of Art. The Jasper Johns piece Flag (1954-1955) is done on three panels of plywood and is on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The work has considerable size and is approximately 3 feet by 5 feet wide. While the work by Pollack is considerably bigger, the piece by Johns has considerable impact due to size as well. Pollack works with liquid paint, his application poured onto the canvas in order to create the right balance of color and textural structure to express his vision. Johns, on the other hand, used a collage of printed newspaper with an encaustic poured over top. An encaustic is wax that is sometimes combined with pigment for color. Then he applied paint over the top in order to help enhance the color. The encaustic was used to create the textural drips that are seen on the work. The two pieces use movement as part of their expressive nature. Pollack is all movement, the piece a symbol of controlled chaos as the color that inspired the title appeared organically from the method of painting, rather than through a plan that was intended to create an emotional response. The work that Johns did was more controlled, planned in such a way to create a specific communication to the viewer. The collage was created, the methods picked carefully, and the end result the consequence of his plan. Pollack entered a space of creation when he did his work, his steps building upon each other until he found a place where he called it completed, the work representing an expression that came from the activity of doing the work. Johns created a piece that had a predetermined end, his work from finish to its ending having an intent. The proof of this is the many ’flag’ themes that he used. The two works are both large in size, impressive in the way that they impact the viewer, and important in the history of American Art. The pieces participate in the rise the American importance on a global level where art is concerned. Both pieces represent a time period that was experimental and innovative, these works being prime examples of the American artist. Jasper Johns and Jackson Pollack used action and movement to express their vision. Works Cited Answers.com. Jasper Johns. Answers Corporation. 2011. Web. 16 March 2011. Golding, John. Visions of the Modern. Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, 1994. Print. Karmel, Pepe. Jackson Pollock - Interviews, Articles, and Reviews: [publ. in Conjunction with the Exhibition "jackson Pollock" The Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 1, 1998 to February 2, 1999]. New York: Abrams, 1999. Print. Levin, Amy K. Gender, Sexuality, and Museums: A Routledge Reader. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print. Ratcliff, Carter. The Fate of a Gesture: Jackson Pollock and Postwar American Art. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. Print. Read More