ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

ANOTHER SPLASH INK MASTER I LIKE is Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) — he often dripped paint on canvas. “On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”

Was he inspired by Zhang DaQian’s splash ink? (Or the other way round?)

POLLOCK’S ART, btw, is known as Abstract Expressionism.

A friend commented, “That Jackson Pollock piece looks like one of the creations of the elephants in Thailand. They’re given a paintbrush to hold in their trunks, trays of paint and encouraged to splash the paint onto blank pieces of paper.”

Perhaps Pollock’s explanation could answer this strange observation: “When I am in a painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about… the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”

And in response to the question “How do you know when you’re finished?”, Pollock replied, “How do you know when you’re finished making love?”

btw, more Pollock art can be found at: The Complete Jackson Pollock site.

(Imported from a forum.)