Jackson Pollock's Biography

The central figure that charted the course of the Abstract Expressionist movement was the deeply troubled painter Jackson Pollock. He was born Paul Jackson Pollock in Cody, Wyoming on January 28, 1912. He was the fifth and youngest son and grew up in Arizona and California after his family left him when he was a little over one year old. Pollock's artistic journey began at the Manual Arts School in Los Angeles, California where he joined two of his brothers. From there, he went on to New York to attend the Art Students League after being convinced by one of his brothers whom also attended the school. In 1945 Jackson Pollock married fellow artist Lee Krasner. Unfortanetly Pollock was an alcoholic, which ultimately led to his downfall.In Paris, on August 12, 1956, Jackson Pollock died from an accident involving drunk driving.

Abstract Expressionism is a style of painting that combines hard to define images of abstract and the emotional values of expressionism.There are three styles that can be identified within the art movement. The first, which Jackson Pollock developed, was the most well-known of this movement. The method, known as action painting, involved waving a brush filled with liquid paint over a canvas to produce an image that had no obvious focal point, but looked like it had movement, hence the name action painting. The second type involved a celebration of color, by doing an abstract image with pure color. This style had no outside images to distract the viewer. The third was known as abstract impressionism. Unlike action painting, works are less spontaneous.

Jackson Pollock invented the the Abstract Expressionist style. Pollock is also the most celebrated artist of this movement.What makes his style so unique is that he placed a large canvas on the floor instead of using the traditional easel. He painted with forceful, rapid, impulsive brush strokes or by splashing the paint directly onto the canvas. This unique method of applying paint led to artists seeing art itself as a medium. Without Pollock, the Abstract Expressionist movement would not have become a radical departure.