- Hardcover: 287 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Edition edition (1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671495933
- ISBN-13: 978-0671495930
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 16.3 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,235,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
That story has now for the first time been told in this very good and very sad book.--Hilton Kramer "Arts and Antiques "
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Deborah Solomon's biography sets Jackson Pollock in his time and portrays him as a shy, often withdrawn person, full of insecurities and self-doubts, and frequently unable to express himself about his art or its meaning. Solomon interviewed two hundred people who knew Pollock and his work and she has drawn extensively on Pollock's own writings and other personal papers. She examines the artist's relationships with his family; his wife and fellow artist Lee Krasner; art patron Peggy Guggenheim; the painters Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and many more.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading a biography of the life and work of Jackson Pollock (see book list) and assuming that most at least know of him i shall leave the regurgitation of his story and simply give you my response to the book. Reading such a honest account really brings it home that even the greatest artist are still people. Continual references to Pollocks relationship with so many famous artists reminded me that despite there status these were just regular folk. As bizarre as the anecdotes sound it brings the humanity of such iconic figures. Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning sitting on a curb outside a bar sharing a bottle of bourbon and taking it in turns to congratulate each other on being 'the best', the fistfights and mudslinging, the drunkenness. Its easy to see such events as somewhat tragic and self destructive when one considers that alcoholism was essentially to blame for his death. But are these not the actions of a 'normal' man?. Hanging out with his friends, creating bonds, which was not an easy thing for Pollock. I cant help but find such tales endearing. The thought of Jackson Pollock walking out of a exhibition, with his sculpture, on to the street and jumping up and down on it so that he could fit it into his car to take home. Its just Great!. But it's also true that his life was a troubled one, and in many respects one can't help but feel that there was so much more that Pollock could have given us if only he could have confronted the demons that eventually consumed him. It's seams somewhat ironic that his life was plagued by mental instability and he should die, thrown from the car he crashed, striking a tree head first. As if in defiance of the very thing that drove him to his end. Yes he was arrogant, crass, abrasive, abusive and a drunk for the best part of his life. But he was also innovative, highly intellectual and as fragile as any person can be. A unusual combination for a life that, with hindsight, could never have ended peacefully. This book is brutal in many respects, discussing Pollock frankly, warts and all. But what i have gained from reading this account is that as a artist its OK to struggle with your work, long periods of inactivity are not uncommon. I guess as an art student one looks upon these artist past as god like figures, the unobtainable who achieved the unobtainable. This has followed me through to independence....until now.
A book that shows me that the people who's achievements i aspire too are people and not gods. Perhaps my purpose in life is not so ridiculous after all.
A book that shows me that the people who's achievements i aspire too are people and not gods. Perhaps my purpose in life is not so ridiculous after all.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Escaping the limits of art
3 May 2011
Format:Paperback
Art historian Deborah Solomon (she's having a biography of Norman Rockwell published this year) brought out in 1987 this life of the complicated and extremely creative Jackson Pollock. One thing about Solomon: she's serious. It was she who in 2010 hosted an interview at the 92nd Street Y with the comedian/author Steve Martin, who had just written a novel set in the art world. During the program Solomon received a note (on stage!) from the Y administration informing her that the paying audience was restless: why was she asking Martin questions about art, why wasn't she asking him questions about sitcoms and the Oscars? A couple of days later the Y was castigated by Solomon when it offered refunds to its trivia-obsessed subscribers. Anyone expecting a trivial exposé of Pollock's controversial life should probably avoid "Jackson Pollock". This is an earnest biography of the abstract expressionist from his birth in Wyoming in 1912 to his violent death in 1956 on Long Island. An alcoholic, Pollock could be belligerent and cruelly insulting, even to his wife, the artist Lee Krasner; and it was excessive alcohol that caused his death in a car crash at the age of 44. At other times he could be surprisingly meek. When the portable mural he created for Peggy Guggenheim's East Side apartment proved too long, Marcel Duchamp suggested they simply cut off 8", and Pollock didn't explode but calmly acquiesced. (About that famous mural, which is now at the University of Iowa: a recent theory asserts that the totemic figures marching across the canvas are actually stylized letters spelling out Pollock's name.) Pollock was the protégé of Thomas Hart Benton and some of his early paintings show Benton's influence. Later Benton, who was strictly representational, felt estranged from his former pupil and the "drip" paintings, such as "No. 5, 1948", which evidently is now privately owned. Pollock also flirted briefly with Surrealism, creating beauties like the San Francisco MOMA's "Guardians of the Secret". (It should be pointed out that this book is first and foremost a biography, so none of the plates are in color.) The narrative abounds in stories of the Forties and Fifties art world: Stuart Davis loathed Benton's regionalism, saying it was appropriate only for a Fascist state; and when André Breton came to New York for the duration of World War II he didn't conceal his contempt for America's lack of culture, flatly refusing to learn English. But of primary importance is Pollock himself: " ... he did away with recognizable imagery in favor of direct expression ... He turned to abstraction not to define the limits of art but to escape them." The shallow audiences at the Y may be bored by all this, but art enthusiasts will enjoy its frank depiction not only of Pollock's life but of the world in which he worked.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
wonderful!
29 Nov 2010
Format:Paperback
I had this book overnighted to me for an Art class I am taking. I found this book to be full of wonderful information on Jackson Pollock. This book did a great job of including a lot of information from his childhood as well as his wife, Kasner.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A most critical and detail-filled look
9 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback
Jackson Pollock is the fascinating and well crafted biography of a truly remarkable and influential American painter who held himself to the most demanding standards. Biographer Deborah Solomon interviewed more than two hundred people to reconstruct Pollock's brilliant yet contrary and sometimes self-destructive life. A most critical and detail-filled look at a very complicated artist and a highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library art history and biography collections.
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