Everybody goes Awww!

  

Why do I so love the paintings of Jackson Pollock? I suppose it doesn’t really matter why, only that I do.

No. 9

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956)

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Image © 2015 Quodlibet. All rights reserved.

“Every so often, a painter has to destroy painting. Cezanne did it, Picasso did it with Cubism. Then Pollock did it. He busted our idea of a picture all to hell. Then there could be new paintings again.”

— Willem de Kooning (Dutch American artistic, 1904-1007)

I seek out his work when we visit museums, and I never fail to be moved and somehow filled with joy at the sheer audaciousness of it all. Even within the highly-controlled execution, there is a sense of abandonment that appeals to me.

No. 9 (Detail)

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956)

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Image © 2015 Quodlibet. All rights reserved.

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww!”

— Jackson Pollock (American artist, 1912-1956)