Art Awareness Kindergarten Lesson 3 –Jackson Pollock Blue Poles – Jackson Pollock

Early Life  Born in Wyoming in 1912  He was the youngest of 5 sons and 3 of his brothers also became artists because his mom always encouraged them to work on their art  Grew up on various farms in western United States  Moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study art  He did not have confidence in his drawing techniques early on  The turning point in his career was when he went to a workshop by a famous Mexican mural painter David Alfaro Siqueiros and learned about using liquid paint  Jackson then started using his imagination to create really large and different paintings

Action Painting  He developed his “drip” technique using household paint  He used hardened brushes, sticks, knives and basting syringes as paint applicators  The pouring and dripping of paint became known as “action painting”  He painted on the canvas which was placed on the floor or tacked to a wall. This way he could walk around it and work from all four sides  His style is also classified as Abstract Expressionism but he preferred to call it Action Painting because he used so much energy while he painted

Legacy  He is one of the greatest painter’s of the 20 th century  He is best known for his huge paintings that he made by splattering, dripping and throwing paint onto his canvases  Pollock wanted people to feel and see the energy he felt while painting The Key – this can be seen at the Art Institute in Chicago