Full Fathom Five (1947) by Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)
Artist Briefing
Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming, on January 28, 1912. In December 1956, he was given his first memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Jackson painted with his whole body and used just about anything besides a traditional brush and easel in his creations. Due to his unique painting technique, Jackson Pollock was dubbed "Jack the Dripper" by Time Magazine in 1956. Jackson had developed his "drip" technique after making his home in Springs on Long Island, NY, with his newlywed wife Lee Krasner. Now dubbed the "Pollock-Krasner House and Studio," their home is a museum and study center open by reservation to the public.
Jackson Pollock is now believed to have had bipolar disorder and was a known alcoholic. I believe that these both show in his work and his technique of being able to "walk into his painting and lose himself." Art was his escape from the real world and this shows in all his works, especially his "Drip" period.
Art Analysis
Full Fathom Five gets its title inspiration from The Tempest by William Shakespeare (Full Fathom Five) The theme of death and darkness is prevalent in this piece.
The line element in this piece is a continuous flow, instead of staggered lines making new shapes. Pollock is known for his drip technique, using a continuous flow of paint running down a stick or hardened brush, to create his masterpieces like the Full Fathom Five. The continuous lines layer themselves creating texture.
Through the texture of the paints and added physical touches of cigarettes, buttons, nails, tacks, keys, coins, matches, and paint-tube caps, you can feel the anguish of a ship being torn apart and the crew being cast to sea. You can almost hear the screams of the crew being turned into coral, eyes becoming pearls. The abstract texture is what brings these feelings to life, like if you touched it yourself you would be cut by coral instead of what appears on the canvas. The clash of white not only feels like pearl eyes staring into your soul, but the souls of those lost in the shipwreck wandering trying to find their ship back home to their loved ones.
The tone is dramatic with its clash of dark and light harmonizing. This helps set the mood for the shipwreck scene that it is inspired by. The white and blue is the unforgiving wall of waves crashing over the ship obliterating it to pieces. Pops of color set the tone for lost crew members and life rafts.
Works Cited
“Jackson Pollock’ Biography.” Jackson Pollock, 2011, www.jackson-pollock.org/biography.jsp. Accessed 17 Sept. 2024.
Jackson-Pollock.org. “Full Fathom Five, 1947 by Jackson Pollock.” Jackson Pollock, 2011, www.jackson-pollock.org/full-fathom-five.jsp. Accessed 17 Sept. 2024.
I loved the art work you chose for this assignment called full fathom five by Jackson pollock. I also enjoyed reading the backstory of not only the art piece but also the story behind the artists Jackson. good post!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your post for this week. The art work you chose was fascinating and your description of the art elements included was very insightful and accurate. You did a very nice explanation and incorporation of a backstory with the artists work! Great job
ReplyDeleteJackson Pollock is one of those figures I've always known about and when I saw your post I was excited to look into, so thanks for the insight! I love how viscerally you described your feelings toward the piece, really pushing on the senses and conveying the emotion very well. I think you nailed it on the description of the texture on Pollock's piece and I think it's worth mentioning the contrast that contributing to an almost chaotic feel across the painting. Thanks for the share!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you described the way the painting made you feel, it really put into perspective what kind of feeling this painting was going for. The chaotic nature of the artistic method is apparent in both the work and the description. Something I like is how the most prevalent colors are often associated with death and sadness (black and blues), but it also looks like a mess of waves on the sea, complete with sea foam on the roiling water. It serves multiple purposes that make the image that much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI believe this painting has a lot to share. I like the colors of white, black and brown, it looks like an Alaskan fall as it snows, I could see the brown leaves, and the black color shows that it is getting dark out, It is a nice piece of art work.
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