It has become common today to view time and motion in the light of their influence on the perception of the art and the complete transformation of this experience. Even though it seems some visual art, such as paintings or sculptures, are frozen in time and motion, it is not always true, as they can force the viewers to be actively engaged with them. This essay will analyze Jackson Pollock as an artist who created such pictures and compare them to other works of art in terms of utilization of time and movement there.
It is essential to highlight some specific features of Pollock’s art style. Firstly, he enjoys working on the floor on a big canvas, as it provides the opportunity to work on the painting from all four sides (facs1900b, 2006). This, in turn, gives the viewers the perfect way of interaction with the work due to the ability to trace Pollock’s motions through the visible lines, peeking through the web of paint (Sayre, 2016). The tools used by the artist deserve special attention as well. Apart from a traditional brush, he more often prefers working with a stick and using such unusual materials as sand broken glass along with dripping fluid paint to “express his feelings rather than illustrate” (facs1900b, 2006).
Comparing Pollock’s No. 32 with some others, such as Water Lilies, Morning: Willows by Claude Monet, or Bridget Riley’s Drift No. 2, it is possible to notice both similarities and differences. Monet’s work is also large-scale, making the viewers enjoy the painting more, as it cannot be entirely seen from one standpoint (Sayre, 2016). Pollock achieved the same effect but through different methods, namely, the “drip” paintings. The illusion of movement, reached by Riley, is also to compare to No.32, but the former is more appropriate to be called optical art, whereas Pollock seems to obtain such an effect unintentionally. Thus, his utilization of time and movement in his works is unique and gives the viewers a particular perception of his art.
To conclude, Jackson Pollock is an outstanding artist who masterfully used his skills to achieve the presence of time and movement in seemingly immobile and “frozen” paintings. The galactic space observed in the works encourages the viewers to engage with the picture unconsciously. Even though one can make some analogies of the distinct aspects of these paintings with the others’ works, the artist appears to be unique in his creations.
References
facs1900b. (2006). Jackson Pollock 51 [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Sayre, H. M. (2016). A World of Art (8th ed.). Pearson.