Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) Jackson Pollock pioneered Abstract Expressionism with his revolutionary “drip paintings,” created by pouring and flinging paint onto canvases laid on the floor. Rejecting easels and brushes, he moved around the canvas in a dance-like process, embedding energy, rhythm, and subconscious impulse into each work. Pieces like Autumn Rhythm or Number 1A, 1948 embody chaos and control, spontaneity and structure. Influenced by Jungian psychology, Native American sand painting, and Surrealist automatism, Pollock shifted focus from representation to pure expression—what critic Harold Rosenberg called “action painting.” He became the face of American art during the Cold War, symbolizing freedom versus Soviet realism. Though plagued by alcoholism and self-doubt, his brief peak (1947–1950) changed art history. Pollock proved that a painting could be an event, not just an object. His legacy endures in every artist who values process over product and sees the canvas as a field of possibility rather than a window to the world.
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