A friend of mine who came with me said; "I could do that... that's not art" (in reference to seeing a Jackson Pollock)... ONE OF MY PET HATES!!!!!
Though I have never been fully keen or widely knowledgeable on him but as I looked into him more I began to understand the real context behind his work...
He started using synthetic resin-based paints called alkyd enamels, which, at that time, was a novel medium. Pollock described this use of household paints, instead of artist’s paints, as "a natural growth out of a need". He used hardened brushes, sticks, and even basting syringes as paint applicators. Pollock's technique of pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of the term action painting. With this technique, Pollock was able to achieve a more immediate means of creating art, the paint now literally flowing from his chosen tool onto the canvas. By defying the convention of painting on an upright surface, he added a new dimension by being able to view and apply paint to his canvases from all directions.
Later, a series of influences came together to guide Pollock to his mature style: years spent painting realist murals in the 1930s showed him the power of painting on a large scale; Surrealism suggested ways to describe the unconscious; and Cubism guided his understanding of picture space.
Also, he used this 'drip' technique to express his feelings as he was an alcoholic and it shows his expressions as the stand for the terror of all modern humanity living in the shadow of nuclear war.
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