The shimmering substance by jackson pollock essay sample

The middle part is the most diverse part, with almost equal amounts of light and dark colors. This is the part with the predominant red dots in the whole painting. There is also a separation of the light and dark colors, the darker ones are mostly packed in the left side while the lighter colors are found on the right and the middle parts. One more noticeable thing here is that the brushstrokes in this part is much more varying compared to the top, where the brushstrokes are almost in a single direction only. In this part, brushstrokes are overlapping each other, in a seemingly destructive fashion.

The bottom part is the contrast of the topmost part, wherein it has dark colors as a dominant theme. Here, just like in the middle part, the brushstrokes are also in much disarray, having no common pattern or direction. It still has light colors in this part but are all dominated by dark ones. Also incorporated in this part is Pollock’s signature, scribble of a “ J Pollock” in black color. You won’t find it easily if you don’t look at the lowermost left part of the painting.

When the painting is divided in three parts, it somehow shows a transition in each part, depending on how you interpret it. The topmost part, having a calmer, lighter aspect, is composed of light colors, with consistent brushstrokes and little dark colors. It is dominated by light colors, especially yellow, giving a mood that seems calm and serene. If you would compare this to the life of Jackson Pollock, this is the time wherein he was not yet into arts, where he was just a kid, before actually being able to create masterpieces like this one.

The middle part is somewhat a continuation of the top part, but it has started to have a disarray of brushstroke and colors, wherein the dark and light colors are of equal amounts, with the distinction made by the red spots. The transition is from a somewhat serene environment, to a more complicated mixing of light and dark color aspects with already the variations of the strokes. When you compare it to the life of Jackson Pollock, this is the part where he is starting as an apprentice painter under the wing of Regionalist painter, Thomas Hart Benton. This is the awakening part, where he discovers himself as a painter, his uniqueness and abilities. In the artwork, this is the part where the red dots are found, so maybe this is an indication that this is the part that Pollock realized himself as a painter.

In the Shimmering Substance, Pollock gave enough time in conceiving the image, wherein it was made in the floor, the design definitely an out of the blue experience, just like his other artworks.

Pollock’s critics. While some embraced the Shimmering Substance with open arms, and believed that it was definitely genius, others say that it was a manifestation of Pollock’s turbulent childhood and disturbed personality. He was referred to as the “ American van Gogh” not only for his genius but also his personal struggles with alcoholism. His life and career, though productive was shadowed with struggles that ended in a tragic car accident. Some say that his untimely death, which also happened during the height of his career, gave him immortality. Abstract expressionism was not yet a household name at the time but due to his death people became more aware with it and overnight, Pollock’s paintings doubled in price.

References:

Elements of Art. (1998). from http://faculty. indy. cc. ks. us/jnull/introelements2. htm
Pioch, N. (2002). Pollock, Jackson from http://www. ibiblio. org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/
Shimmering Substance (sounds in the Grass Series). (1998). from http://www. moma. org/collection/conservation/pollock/shimmering_substance. html