What do you think?
Rate this book
This Is... #2
This is Pollock
In 1956 Time magazine referred to Pollock as "Jack the Dripper". His iconic paintings stretch out with the generosity and scale of America's Western landscape where the artist grew up. Pollock said that he painted "out of his conscious": the cathartic dribbled paint reflected his troubled mind.
This book traces Pollock's career and discusses how his loose, individual style was used as a political weapon in the Cold War, representing America as the free, democratic nation. Illustrations simplify the theory and reveal the hidden meaning behind the mesh of painted lines.
This title is appropriate for ages 14 and up
This book traces Pollock's career and discusses how his loose, individual style was used as a political weapon in the Cold War, representing America as the free, democratic nation. Illustrations simplify the theory and reveal the hidden meaning behind the mesh of painted lines.
This title is appropriate for ages 14 and up
80 pages, Hardcover
First published April 29, 2014
3 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 10, 2019
I really like this catchy and informative "board book" biography for young people and adults about (one of) the Bad Boy(s) of American painting, Jackson Pollock. Doesn't excuse his bad behavior, doesn't clean him up or apologize for him as many biographies do, but emphasizes--as it should--his development and career as an artist. Visually very attractive combination of cartooning, illustration, photographs, comics, short topical paragraphs, kind of usefully fragmented to kind of fit his fragmented life and work. He worked with Thomas Hart Benton! He was influenced by Picasso, not surprisingly. Includes some vignettes about his wife and accomplished artist Lee Krasner, Peggy Guggenheim, for that People -magazine angle he would have hated, but hey, we're human, it's not boring. How the "dripping" approach emerged is interesting, of course.
One anecdote I find interesting. His last girlfriend, Ruth Kligman, took Pollock to Waiting for Godot (which I just reread) on Broadway three different times, and he couldn't get through it, breaking down sobbing each time. He's not exactly a sympathetic guy--he was kind of prototype of sorts for some of the iconoclastic bad boy Beats--but this at least demonstrates some of his inner anguish, sometimes blended with self-destructive rage.
I see it's one of a series of 16 art bio board books she did! Yay! A project!
One anecdote I find interesting. His last girlfriend, Ruth Kligman, took Pollock to Waiting for Godot (which I just reread) on Broadway three different times, and he couldn't get through it, breaking down sobbing each time. He's not exactly a sympathetic guy--he was kind of prototype of sorts for some of the iconoclastic bad boy Beats--but this at least demonstrates some of his inner anguish, sometimes blended with self-destructive rage.
I see it's one of a series of 16 art bio board books she did! Yay! A project!
April 29, 2019
Pollock’s New York at this point centred around the Cedar Street Tavern on University Place, where other Abstract Expressionist painters, and later the Beat poets, hung out. The drinks were cheap, and the vibe was loose and macho … Pollock was banned for wrenching the toilet door off its hinges, as was Beat hero Jack Kerouac for pissing in an ashtray.
Well … this book has sort of rescued me. In my current state I had just about given up reading, couldn’t wrap my attention around it. But 24 hours ago I was looking at a pile of books that I had intended on reading this year, and noticed this short, illustrated book laying near the bottom. I suddenly had the notion that if I started reading it, I very well might find that it was interesting enough and short enough to get me through to the end. And indeed, it was.
I knew who Pollock was. But knew next to nothing about him, except what his iconic paintings looked like. Couldn’t have come up with a name for the style (Abstract Expressionism), and surely didn’t realize that earlier in his career he’d painted a lot of stuff that looked quite different.
Just a word about the biographer and the artist who collaborated on the book. The former, Catherine Ingram, is a freelance art historian, who obtained a First Class Honours degree at Glasgow University, was made a Prize Fellow (after her D. Phil at Trinity College) at Magdalene College, Oxford; and among many other activities, has run courses at the Tate Gallery. The latter, Peter Arkle, creates illustrations for books, magazines and ads for a range of clients, including Amnesty International, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire,and IBM.
the book’s layout …
About 80 pages. Text can appear almost anywhere. Some pages are nothing but text by Ingram. Other pages have photographs & text, or a single large photo on the page with the only text a caption of what it shows and when it was taken. There are handsome pages displaying a full color reproduction of a painting, with the painting framed by black, covering the rest of the page (text being name, date, material used, size, the museum that it's in). And of course the sort of comic-book style colored drawings by Arkle, which can be virtually anywhere too. Sometimes occupying a full page, even two facing pages, with text presented in word balloons, simple rectangles, etc etc. sometimes just a small colored drawing on the page illustrating what Ingram’s words are saying. Seems like every page has been very carefully planned.
. . . . . . . . . .
Of course everything about Pollock was absolutely new to me – born in Cody Wyoming to a family who started and gave up farms many times in the west, from Cody to Phoenix to small cities scattered around California … how he became interested in, and influenced by, the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti … and the American transcendentalists … Moby Dick one of his favorite books … some of Pollock’s early paintings depicting the American West, the pioneering spirit ... his work at the WPA during the depression, where he rejected the rules from the beginning … beginning to use ideas gleaned from studying native American art forms, even starting to develop his personal method of making art after attending many times the 1941 MOMA exhibit “Indian Art of the United States” and observing the techniques of actual Indian sand painters who performed … his entry being rejected by Peggy Guggenheim (outrageously wealthy collector and outrageous fornicator, who bought a picture a day and ultimately gave them away to museums all over the word) for her 1943 Spring Salon, until being told by her friend Piet Mondrian ‘I have a feeling that this may be the most exciting painting that I have seen in a long, long time, here or in Europe.’ … Guggenheim then going all the way in the other direction, promising Pollock a one-man show and a contract with her gallery … the shock that his Mural (a gigantic painting, 6 ft tall and almost 20 long – shown on facing pages in the book) made when it was first exhibited in 1943 … in the late 40’s starting to reject symbolic modes, universal subjects, unconscious symbols in favor of the style that he would come to be known for, applying the paint without a brush in seemingly haphazard streaks, random designs, to unprimed canvas worked on the floor … by 1949 Pollock featured in Life Magazine as possibly the greatest U.S. painter …
Well, it was unfortunately downhill from there. Beset by psychological problems, Pollock began drinking (alcohol beset him throughout his career, though he could go long periods without touching it, churning out great works during these periods). It ended in the summer of 1956. He and two women were going to a party. He was driving, a photo taken that afternoon shows him looking like he was already drunk.
“En route, Pollock decided that he felt too lousy to go, and turned back. Agitated, he was driving very badly and the girls were scared. Edith’s screams irritated him, and he flattened the accelerator to the floor, lost control on a sharp corner and smashed into two young elm trees. Pollock died instantly. Edith was also killed. Ruth survived but suffered serious injuries.”
. . . . . . . . . .
Near the end of the book, I suddenly thought about the single work by Pollock that I’ve actually seen in a museum. Couldn’t remember the name of it, though. Was it one of those pictured? Then as I turned over page 71 (on which Arkle illustrates the vignette about the Cedar Tavern I quoted way up top) there on page 72 the name stood - The Story of Blue Poles, 1952. The “story” about the painting is one I’d never heard, and it strikes me as just a bit of insider speculation traded over drinks. But I was surprised that from what had already been written, I understood that Pollock had practically quite producing much of anything that was destined to be remembered long.
My wife and I had seen Blue Poles some twenty years after it was painted, and shortly after it had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for just over a million dollars. It caused quite a stir in Australia, much of it very negative. Perhaps it had traveled to major galleries around the country as a way of showing it to the public – I can only think we must have seen it in the Victoria Gallery in Melbourne.
At any rate, we did see it. We were both dumbfounded at the beauty of the work. For myself, I recollect just standing and looking at it for what now seems like fifteen minutes (wife thinks maybe longer). Today I looked it up on the web, found a good but not very large photo of it on the NGA’s web site. When I beheld it I couldn’t help but begin sobbing at its beauty. (I cry easily, simply from being overwhelmed by something). Now, almost 70 years after its making, it’s the most popular painting in the NGA, has become Pollock’s most famous work, and is wildly thought to be worth anywhere from 100 million to 350 million dollars.
“My painting does not come from the easel … On the floor I am more at ease”.
Jackson Pollock
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: The Three Astronauts
Next review: ---
Older review: ---
Previous library review: Asterix the Gaul
Next library review: J.M.W. Turner
Well … this book has sort of rescued me. In my current state I had just about given up reading, couldn’t wrap my attention around it. But 24 hours ago I was looking at a pile of books that I had intended on reading this year, and noticed this short, illustrated book laying near the bottom. I suddenly had the notion that if I started reading it, I very well might find that it was interesting enough and short enough to get me through to the end. And indeed, it was.
I knew who Pollock was. But knew next to nothing about him, except what his iconic paintings looked like. Couldn’t have come up with a name for the style (Abstract Expressionism), and surely didn’t realize that earlier in his career he’d painted a lot of stuff that looked quite different.
Just a word about the biographer and the artist who collaborated on the book. The former, Catherine Ingram, is a freelance art historian, who obtained a First Class Honours degree at Glasgow University, was made a Prize Fellow (after her D. Phil at Trinity College) at Magdalene College, Oxford; and among many other activities, has run courses at the Tate Gallery. The latter, Peter Arkle, creates illustrations for books, magazines and ads for a range of clients, including Amnesty International, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire,and IBM.
the book’s layout …
About 80 pages. Text can appear almost anywhere. Some pages are nothing but text by Ingram. Other pages have photographs & text, or a single large photo on the page with the only text a caption of what it shows and when it was taken. There are handsome pages displaying a full color reproduction of a painting, with the painting framed by black, covering the rest of the page (text being name, date, material used, size, the museum that it's in). And of course the sort of comic-book style colored drawings by Arkle, which can be virtually anywhere too. Sometimes occupying a full page, even two facing pages, with text presented in word balloons, simple rectangles, etc etc. sometimes just a small colored drawing on the page illustrating what Ingram’s words are saying. Seems like every page has been very carefully planned.
. . . . . . . . . .
Of course everything about Pollock was absolutely new to me – born in Cody Wyoming to a family who started and gave up farms many times in the west, from Cody to Phoenix to small cities scattered around California … how he became interested in, and influenced by, the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti … and the American transcendentalists … Moby Dick one of his favorite books … some of Pollock’s early paintings depicting the American West, the pioneering spirit ... his work at the WPA during the depression, where he rejected the rules from the beginning … beginning to use ideas gleaned from studying native American art forms, even starting to develop his personal method of making art after attending many times the 1941 MOMA exhibit “Indian Art of the United States” and observing the techniques of actual Indian sand painters who performed … his entry being rejected by Peggy Guggenheim (outrageously wealthy collector and outrageous fornicator, who bought a picture a day and ultimately gave them away to museums all over the word) for her 1943 Spring Salon, until being told by her friend Piet Mondrian ‘I have a feeling that this may be the most exciting painting that I have seen in a long, long time, here or in Europe.’ … Guggenheim then going all the way in the other direction, promising Pollock a one-man show and a contract with her gallery … the shock that his Mural (a gigantic painting, 6 ft tall and almost 20 long – shown on facing pages in the book) made when it was first exhibited in 1943 … in the late 40’s starting to reject symbolic modes, universal subjects, unconscious symbols in favor of the style that he would come to be known for, applying the paint without a brush in seemingly haphazard streaks, random designs, to unprimed canvas worked on the floor … by 1949 Pollock featured in Life Magazine as possibly the greatest U.S. painter …
Well, it was unfortunately downhill from there. Beset by psychological problems, Pollock began drinking (alcohol beset him throughout his career, though he could go long periods without touching it, churning out great works during these periods). It ended in the summer of 1956. He and two women were going to a party. He was driving, a photo taken that afternoon shows him looking like he was already drunk.
“En route, Pollock decided that he felt too lousy to go, and turned back. Agitated, he was driving very badly and the girls were scared. Edith’s screams irritated him, and he flattened the accelerator to the floor, lost control on a sharp corner and smashed into two young elm trees. Pollock died instantly. Edith was also killed. Ruth survived but suffered serious injuries.”
. . . . . . . . . .
Near the end of the book, I suddenly thought about the single work by Pollock that I’ve actually seen in a museum. Couldn’t remember the name of it, though. Was it one of those pictured? Then as I turned over page 71 (on which Arkle illustrates the vignette about the Cedar Tavern I quoted way up top) there on page 72 the name stood - The Story of Blue Poles, 1952. The “story” about the painting is one I’d never heard, and it strikes me as just a bit of insider speculation traded over drinks. But I was surprised that from what had already been written, I understood that Pollock had practically quite producing much of anything that was destined to be remembered long.
My wife and I had seen Blue Poles some twenty years after it was painted, and shortly after it had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for just over a million dollars. It caused quite a stir in Australia, much of it very negative. Perhaps it had traveled to major galleries around the country as a way of showing it to the public – I can only think we must have seen it in the Victoria Gallery in Melbourne.
At any rate, we did see it. We were both dumbfounded at the beauty of the work. For myself, I recollect just standing and looking at it for what now seems like fifteen minutes (wife thinks maybe longer). Today I looked it up on the web, found a good but not very large photo of it on the NGA’s web site. When I beheld it I couldn’t help but begin sobbing at its beauty. (I cry easily, simply from being overwhelmed by something). Now, almost 70 years after its making, it’s the most popular painting in the NGA, has become Pollock’s most famous work, and is wildly thought to be worth anywhere from 100 million to 350 million dollars.
“My painting does not come from the easel … On the floor I am more at ease”.
Jackson Pollock
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: The Three Astronauts
Next review: ---
Older review: ---
Previous library review: Asterix the Gaul
Next library review: J.M.W. Turner
November 12, 2024
In depth look at Pollock (P) and the motivations that shaped his art. I have to say that P is the most controversial artist that I have come across in conversations; I have friends who think he is a genius and friends who think he is an imposter. I think that this might be exactly what he wanted; so that is the perspective I take away from his art.
December 24, 2016
"My painting does not come from the easel……On the floor I am more at ease." #Jackson_Pollock
Read
December 11, 2014fun intro to pollock
June 8, 2021
Fascinating life and times.
December 5, 2014
This is a great overview of Jackson Pollock's life and art. It's perfect for middle school or high school students. It is not a very deep book, but it does give great information not only about Pollock's life and work, but also of what was going on in the art world at the time, as well as what was going on in America at the time. So in that regard it really gave good context for the art he made.
October 31, 2019
While I’m familiar with his more famous work, or his technique at least, it was interesting to read more on the meaning and his rise and fall, which I knew nothing about. Ingram concisely and interestingly tells his story and the illustrations are helpful and captivating.
December 16, 2017
Board books for adults...brilliant! This visual format for a visual subject is equally brilliant.
March 23, 2018
Books that are part graphic and written really reign in reader interest. This author does a very good job explaining Pollock's art, but also the political climate and personal challenges he faced.
None of us are immune to the political climate of a nation. The clamp down on free expression during The Cold War impacted American culture and people personally. Pollock's response was his groundbreaking free expression pieces. His early years were not only emotionally but physically chaotic as his parents moved across the country repeatedly. Many look to the Beat Generation in admiration. I do this but I also feel sad the artists and writers of the era were so terribly confused and lost emotionally. -AW
None of us are immune to the political climate of a nation. The clamp down on free expression during The Cold War impacted American culture and people personally. Pollock's response was his groundbreaking free expression pieces. His early years were not only emotionally but physically chaotic as his parents moved across the country repeatedly. Many look to the Beat Generation in admiration. I do this but I also feel sad the artists and writers of the era were so terribly confused and lost emotionally. -AW
September 13, 2014
A tumultuous childhood probably impacted Jackson Pollock in his later life. Though obviously gifted, he also had a destructive streak fueled by alcohol and low self-esteem. Like many greats before him, he succumbed to depression and the bottle and met an untimely death.
February 20, 2015
An inventive (but sometimes not entirely successful) blend of comics, art history, critical theory and biography that gives a very good sense who Jackson Pollock was.
November 23, 2021
Another thorough, quick and visually interesting book in this series. I understand and appreciate Pollock’s paintings more for having read it. His drizzling of paint clearly wasn’t random as some say—he was clearly following his visual and inner senses.
I felt sorry for his sad childhood and addictions and self-esteem issues which he tried most of his adult like to overcome through therapy, work and rural living. While his inner demons don’t excuse his rages and destructive end, referring to him as a “bad boy” oversimplifies and ignores these issues.
I felt sorry for his sad childhood and addictions and self-esteem issues which he tried most of his adult like to overcome through therapy, work and rural living. While his inner demons don’t excuse his rages and destructive end, referring to him as a “bad boy” oversimplifies and ignores these issues.
February 28, 2020
I adore Pollock and while I tend to focus more on WHO the artist is and what makes them tick, their lives, passions, and vision; the judgment that often is attributed to artists for being human, is horrendous. Instead of focusing on his work, this focuses on his weaknesses. It would be a good starting volume regarding Pollock, had the author combined his humanness with his artistic visions.
December 21, 2017
Wets the appetite of learning about famed painter Jackson Pollock. Interesting medium to use graphic novel as a format of a biography.
I enjoyed learning about him and his work but wasn’t a fan of the font/type.
I enjoyed learning about him and his work but wasn’t a fan of the font/type.
January 20, 2022
Hep Kitap'ın "İşte Sanat" serisindeki 17 kitapta biri olan "İşte Pollock", daha önce bildiğim sanatçılardan biri değil. İlk defa bu seri ile tanıdım ve okurken de sıkıldım. Sanatından çok alkol sorunlarını, psikolojik sorunlarını, toplumdaki uyumsuzluğunu okumak sıkıcıydı. Bu kitabı sevemedim.
February 9, 2020
A quick review of Pollock's life and the influences on his art.
April 20, 2018
Un libro triste de su triste protagonista. Todo muy bien y cuidadosamente retratado.
January 18, 2015
This book delves into Pollock’s career and life story through visual storytelling. This isn’t a deep look into his life, culture in America at the time, or his paintings. It’s meant to be a quick high-level introduction to the artist. It’s entertaining, nonetheless and the illustrations are fantastic.
November 7, 2014
A concise introduction to the life and art of Jackson Pollock ... brief and to the point ...
April 13, 2017
A brief biography of Jackson Pollock with photos of his work and comic strip illustrations of key moments. I never understood the appeal of his work until I stood in from of Autumn Rhythm at MOMA and was moved to tears. Pictures don't do his work justice. This book just gives the most surface level taste. I want more.
Read
September 27, 2017Not a huge fan of his work but I'm secretly delighted that he fit the image I created of him.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews