03 May, 2007

JP & LK at the Beach


Jackson Pollock & Lee Krasner

Not the most flattering photo, eh? I watched the movie by Ed Harris last night and I'll be offering you my review soon. Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock certainly lived the days of wine and roses. No, make that whiskey and roses.

You certainly feel sorry for the old guy, especially after he drives his Caddy off the road and ends it all. I love Pollock's stuff, which I had the pleasure of seeing at the MoMA last year. Ed Harris seems to have put some real effort into the movie, too.

I know one thing, I have this hard to control desire to go out and buy an oversize jeans jacket. Where did that urge come from?


6 comments:

Philip said...

I quite enjoyed the film although learned nothing new since I had already seen a number of well produced documentaries about him.It could have gone a bit deeper for me e.g. included the reaction of some other artists to his work. It is a good film for those who know nothing about him I guess.

Casey Klahn said...

I'll be commenting some more on the film. I enjoyed seeing the Charlie Rose interview with Ed Harris on my rented DVD, and a documentary on the making of.
Even though I'm not doing a film blog, I get something out of seeing a lay view of art. Ed Harris did a thorough immersion in his subject, and it would be a hoot to sit down with him over a beer and see what he knows about Pollock, now.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Casey, The movie really affected me. Even though I had known a bit about Pollock, previously, I didn't really care much for his work. After I saw the movie, I read the book and boy, that really got me. Around that time we also moved to the country and I started painting again, and their story of moving to the springs and really getting down to work was very inspiring to me. I wrote a post about it, probably about a year ago.

I have a new appreciation for Pollocks work and I may also like Lee Krasner's work even more than his.

Casey Klahn said...

I like Krasner's work, too.
"Just look at the work" seems to be a good interpretation from JP. Maybe it's the Clem Greenbergs that muck it up, and make people afraid of abstract art. Who knows?
I live deep, deep in the country. I don't think it does anything for my work, though, as I do mainly studio work. OTOH, maybe the change for JP / LK was so profound - I mean NYC is an entity so big it does exert a lot of effect on a person.
I did laugh a little at the nature loving scene, because I knew they were abstractionists. It takes a little extra thought to see why that was a motivating change for them.
Have you been to the P-K House at The Springs?

Tracy Helgeson said...

Casey, I have been dying to visit their house, and we are hoping to get there this spring.

I think part of the change in the move to the country, was that he was able to drink less and was more productive, for awhile anyway.

For me moving to the country eliminated so many distractions-if I still lived in an urban setting, I would not be able to be so focused. Ultimately that was the inspiration for JP, less distraction, I think, and that is why I felt a connection to their move and subsequent success. I am hoping to avoid his ending though!

Lee's later years are something to admire though.

Casey Klahn said...

My own move to the country was quite a profound change - from the urban Seattle setting to rural Lincoln County. I mean, I think that there still isn't a stop light in the county - how rural is that? I hunt turkey and deer, etc. by walking out the back door - my goal is to never have to get in the truck to go hunting.
It still requires strong concentration and focus to run the art business, and even more focus to actually paint!

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