Jackson Pollock was known for his drip paintings. His style can be thought of as messy: throwing and splashing his materials onto the canvas. He has said that “the method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement” (Joselit 295). By illustrating his feelings, Pollock would simply use art to explain or emphasize his beliefs to the viewer. For Pollock, simple clarification does not do him justice. His goal is to give a deliberate and exact manifestation of both his conscious and his unconscious feelings. He uses his technique as an emotional outlet. His entire body and mind take part in the process. Pollock allows his body to let loose in the making of his work, giving over to his unconscious mind so that those feelings can take over and be the artist.
In Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952 Pollock’s feet prints can be seen on the canvas from where he walked while completing the piece. To complete his piece, he would lay down the blank canvas on the floor and then begin the process of dripping, pouring, or splashing the paint or other materials onto the canvas. His entire physical body would be involved, and the procedure would look like somewhat of a performance (NGA). Joselit says that “the rhythmic actions which Pollock’s body registers in paint pivot on a disciplinary beat of repetition” (298). For Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952, Pollock’s body movement mirrors the way that the paint has fallen onto the canvas, whether in splashes or has been dripped. Because of the physicality of the work, the viewer can almost image the artist creating the piece. Each “stroke” is shown, like a dance on the canvas."International Paintings and Sculpture: Blue Poles." National Gallery of Australia. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. http://nga.gov.au/international/Catalogue/Detail.cfm?IRN=36334&MnuID=2&GalID=1.
"Jackson Pollock - Blue Poles: Number 11 1952." National Gallery of Victoria. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/pollock/.
Joselit, David. "Notes on Surface: Toward a Genealogy of Flatness." Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985. Ed. Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung. Oxord: Blackwell, 2005. 292-308. Print.
I agree that Jackson Pollock's paitings are good examples of art expressing depth. I believe that even though his famous "drip paintings" are essentially two-dimensional, they are more energetic than traditional paintings on canvas. He developed a creative way to represent his inner emotions and unconscious mind without relying on the traditional notions of form and perspective. However, his pieces do contain many of the same elements as landscape paintings and genre paintings, but he executes them differently. The many layers of paint add depth to the canvas, and his fluid strokes add rhythm. All of his paintings convey a sense of motion that is often missing in academic pieces. Upon close inspection, I agree that Pollock's seemingly haphazard paintings express depth and other artistic elements extremely well.
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