Jackson Pollack and Jasper John: article summary and analysis - Essay Example

Pollock created what he called ‘action painting’, which consisted of pouring paint onto a canvas in thin streams that provided for dynamic movement through the work. Johns made paintings that used collage and encaustic techniques which were then painted using oils. Both artists used interesting methods in which to create painted works that used mediums beyond the basic use of oil paint. In discussing Johns and Pollock, the following two articles provide for context for the nature of the two artists.

In an interview that took place in 1950, William Wright spoke with Jackson Pollock for a piece that was for the radio, but was never broadcast. His greatest art show would occur later that year. Fifteen years later, Jasper Johns gave an interview for radio that was broadcast. David Sylvester spoke with Johns, exploring self-expression that was broadcast for the BBC. Both interviews allow for an examination of the artists for their own interpretations and feelings about their work. In discussing their work, revelations about the deeper meanings through commentaries that are not often heard in the public, Pollock’s words not released during the year they were taken.

The first opinion given by Pollack is in response to the question, “what is the meaning of Modern Art?”. . Both artists are indicating the importance of the internal, Pollack stripping it entirely out of the work, where Johns implements a symbol that is impersonal in order to inject his internal expression within its space. In discussing the unconscious, there is a diversity of opinion on the meaning that is put within the work. Pollack suggests that looking at a painting should be done passively, in order to allow the unconscious mind to connect to the work.

The interviewer asks “Would it be true to say that the artist is painting from the unconscious, and the canvas must act as the unconscious of the person who views it?” (584). Pollack affirms this as an accurate statement. However, Johns expands upon this idea. He takes his paintings in directions so that he can somewhat guide them emotionally. He states “At times I will attempt to do something which seems quite uncalled for in the painting, so that the work won’t proceed logically from where it is, but will go somewhere else” (738).

Johns does speak, however, about how the mood of his work evolves during its creation. He extends this part of the conversation to discuss the energy of creation and how it is related to a specific work. He states “The energy, the logic, everything which you do takes a form in working: the energy tends to run out, the form tends to be accomplished or finalized” (739). With this, he works his way back to the imagery that he uses. The concept of the image has little to no importance, or at least as little or as much as does the process that has taken the painting past the point of the image.

He states “I think the processes involved in the