Pollock: Man & Movie review by art historian Dr. Lori

An American Sculptor: Seymour Lipton written by Dr. Lori

click image to purchase

Dr. Lori talks about Jackson Pollock paintings on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Click the image or 'Play' button twice to watch video.

Dr. Lori's comments on the Pollock movie
Pollock's wife Lee Krasner
Art critic Clement Greenburg
Dr. Lori lectures on Pollock and the movie
Request an online appraisal for your artwork from Dr. Lori
Email page to a friend

Dr. Lori's comments on the Pollock movie

I usually stick to reviewing artist's works and fine art exhibitions, but I just saw the Jackson Pollock movie starring Ed Harris and I thought that my expertise allowed me to make some comments on the film. I want to also help fill some gaps from an art historian's point of view. While I was happy to see that Hollywood has finally recognized the work of Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollock, on the silver screen, I would have liked to have seen more content portrayed about his work. While Lee Krasner's consistent confidence in Pollock's work was evident in the movie, the screenplay failed to demonstrate how important she was as a fellow artist and as an advocate of his art.

Pollock's wife Lee Kranser

Considerable information about Jackson Pollock's wife Lee Krasner was not included in the film. She was vital to his artistic growth as she shared her intuitive background in art and art history with Pollock. Krasner's background and knowledge of the New York art world as well as her art training with European master, Hans Hoffman, helped to guide Pollock in the studio and beyond. Her ability to control Pollock as necessary and to entice the circle of critics around them proved paramount to his career. She was seen as a personal and social tour de force, but she should have also been viewed as an artistic one.

Art critic Clement Greenburg

The important criticism of Clement Greenberg was equally overshadowed in this movie by the emphasis on Pollock's drinking. Greenberg, a great advocate of formalism in Pollock's work, came to characterize and define the New American Painting at mid century. He explained in his articles in the Nation and the Partisan Review that Pollock represented the future of art, freeing it from the traditional easel paintings to the mural. Pollock was interested in new results via painting, but he was also interested in working through the history of Surrealism and French modernism to capture a brand of truly American painting. While the actors' performances in the film, Pollock, were quite good, in my view there is always more room for art history. Kudos to the filmmakers for bringing Pollock's American saga to the masses as his influence has been far reaching and remains very important to today's contemporary art world.

Dr. Lori
Director, Masterpiece Technologies Inc.

Please feel free to contact me with questions and additional lecture information.

Dr. Lori lectures on Pollock and the movie

As an expert on Abstract Expressionism, Dr. Lori is available to lecture on the movie, the life, and the art and art history surrounding Jackson Pollock. If you have seen or are planning to see the movie, the lecture provides background information and fills in many of the art history and social gaps. If you "don't get" Pollock's drip paintings and want to know why they are so important, you will also enjoy this lecture. Please contact us if you are interested in having Dr. Lori lecture to your group.

Dr. Lori recently published a book on Abstract Expressionist sculptor Seymour Lipton. Working at the same time as Jackson Pollock, Lipton dealt with similar issues only using sculpture as his means. Dr. Lori also guest curated a related exhibition on Lipton and Abstract Expressionism that is traveling to universities and museums throughout the United States through 2002.