Pollock's first solo exhibition was held at the Century Art Gallery from November 9 to 29, 1943. The exhibition received approving reviews, with some critics pleasing the aggressiveness of his paintings, who were so impressed by the raw energy of Pollock's work that they were happy to ignore the shortcomings of the work. It is believed that, over time, Pollock had the opportunity to become the greatest painter of the country, and he already had his own special style.
Interestingly, despite the tremendous response to Pollock's exhibition, not a single Pollock's work was sold until the end of the exhibition. Pollock was still as poor as ever. And his most difficult work – the promised completion of a mural for Peggy Guggenheim – has yet to begin. After the exhibition, Pollock returned to his studio to begin the mural, which had been on canvas since July and was still empty.
From the first day Pollock worked in the studio, Lee couldn't ask him how his work was going. Judging by the look on Pollock's face, Lee knew he still couldn't start. The next day it was still the same, and the second week passed, and Pollock was still unable to start.
Ever since visiting Benton's studio and seeing the huge murals that his teachers had made that reflected American history and culture, Pollock had wanted to paint murals for years. Although the mural movement of the 30s has long since ended, Pollock's affection for murals has not changed, and the reason why he did not pay attention to murals is due to the limitations of many reasons, and now that he has the opportunity, he has a strong desire to create, so he does not know where to start. He wanted to put the monumental mural as a test of his outstanding talent, and he had to find an appropriate way to express his love for the mural.
However, how is this hugely sized mural composed? What is the theme of the expression? A few weeks ago, Clement Greenberg also said that one of the flaws in Pollock's ability as a painter was to deal with dimensions. The paintings in the solo exhibition are not as large as the small ones, and Greenberg believes that as an artist, Pollock lacks a sense of wholeness, and there are too many problems to consider at one time, and the tension of the whole cannot fill the whole picture. What kind of work should Pollock use in response to criticism of him?
Two weeks later, Pollock told Lee that her presence was getting in the way of his work and asked Lee to move out for a while. Lee then took the opportunity to visit his relatives. But when she returned to New York three days later, the canvas was still empty.
One afternoon in January 1944, Lee's friend John Little visited and found Lee pacing somewhat nervously. "Jackson's plan is to hand in this mural tomorrow," Lee told Little, "but he hasn't started painting it yet." ”
The next day, when Little saw Lee again, she was smiling, "You can't believe there was a miracle," Lee said, "Jackson finished the painting." ”
After a month of suffering, Pollock completed the mural in one night.
In this painting, Pollock creates a descending form of black lines and swirls to cut through the picture. At first glance, the whole painting is abstract, and if you look closely, the descending black line is a three-dimensional object in the painting—in the form of a human body. There are eight of these black lines, each of which is a profile portrait. Their hind legs are gently lifted as if they are moving, and the slender human body passes silently through the picture, giving the picture a sense of composition. In contrast to this humanoid frame are swirling turquoise and yellow brushstrokes, overlapping and intertwined, forming a rhythmic procession of the human body.
Pollock was proud of the murals. When the Guggenheim sent a truck to pick up the paintings, Pollock took them along. Peggy was not at home and arranged for two friends to help set up the mural. The two men realized that the painting was larger than planned and asked Pollock if he could make it 8 inches smaller, to which Pollock insisted that it would work better if it was larger. After the painting was attached, Pollock drank to himself. This time he drank a lot of wine and called Peggy and asked her to come back soon to see the masterpiece.
Painter Wang Yancheng shares with you the beauty of modern art......