I am nature.
– Jackson Pollock
1.1.Introduction
Jackson Pollock remains one of the most important and influential American painters of all time. Known for his „drip” paintings created in the late 1940s, he caused a significant breakthrough in modern art. His radically new technique and exploration of themes related to American identity established him as a symbol of post-World War II American painting and an icon of abstract expressionism.
Pollock was influenced by artists and styles such as Benton, Navajo sand painting, African sculpture, prehistoric and Egyptian art, Picasso, Masson, and Miró. His early paintings were expressive and heavy, often starting with legible forms that he later obscured. But by 1947, Pollock pioneered „allover painting,” through the creation of intricate webs of splattered lines. His technique involved dripping paint onto a canvas laid on the floor, thus breaking with the established and traditional paintings styles. This approach resulted in large-scale, abstract compositions in which the process of painting was just as important and highlighter as its results. Pollock’s work went through series of evolutionary change over time, showing an increase in complexity of his fractal patterns. He treated all parts of the canvas equally, thus making his work move away from traditional easel painting to something more akin to mural work. This change influenced the trajectory of modern painting and inspired many other artists, such as Andrew Wyeth (Arnason 2017: 384-386).
Pollock’s work challenges traditional boundaries, such as those between art and nature. He has described himself, and been described, as the force of nature in art, but it is more proper to say that in his paintings there appears an “elision of art and nature” (Schreyach 2007: 36). This essay aims at explaining and justifying this claim, through showing how exactly nature corresponds to Jackson Pollock’s art. It embodies the visual resemblances to nature as well as the essence, energy, and processes found in the natural world, making it a unique and powerful reflection of the forces and complexities of nature itself. The main aspects of this relationship are the spontaneity and wildness of the creation process, the metaphorical representation of natural processes rather than the representation of their results, and the mathematical pursuit of the patterns visible in the natural world like fractals.
1.2.Nature painter
Pollock’s work being described as blurring the lines between art and the natural world has a basis in multiple aspects of his paintings. It is visible in some of the titles (e.g. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) or Nature All Over!), but even more importantly, in his technique, which fuses natural spontaneity with artistic mastery (Schreyach 2007: 36). Modern art experienced a shift that Abrams (1957: 157) described as changing from the view that the “making of a work of art is a supremely purposeful activity” to the view that “its coming-into-being is, basically, a spontaneous process independent of intention, precept, or even consciousness.” It could be said that Pollock’s work is the embodiment of this change, since his techniques moved away from conscious, deliberate creation to a more instinctive and natural process.
Pollock dripping paint onto a horizontally placed canvas can be interpreted as a more direct and natural method than traditional painting techniques because it is “’wild” and instinctive (Schreyach 2007: 36), in opposition to other modernist traditions, such as Cubism. The technique allowed Pollock a physical and immersive interaction with his work, enhancing the sense of immediateness and spontaneity. The technique is overwhelmed by perceptual experience. This means basically that the visual and emotional impact of his paintings is capable of overshadowing the meticulous skills involved in their creation.
Culturally speaking, the paintings received a lot of comparisons to nature, since their abstract quality could attempt to convey the mood of natural scenes, instead of their mimicry. This reflects a deep engagement of Pollock with natural themes and aesthetics. The connection as even explored during the Art News Annual via their juxtaposition of Pollock’s painting with natural imagery, suggesting a deep, almost inherent, association between his work and the natural world. In this way, Pollock can be interpreted as a modern “nature painter,” not because of painting landscapes or natural scenes, but rather in how his abstract works evoke natural processes and elements (Schreyach 2007: 37-38).
Pollock’s method of constructing his artwork in a spontaneous, intuitive manner, reacting to each mark or gesture made on the canvas, reflects a deeply personal and psychological engagement. His paintings were not just visual creations but also records of his emotional and psychological state, capturing the essence of his being in that moment. Abstract Expressionism offered a way for artists to explore the individual self. This movement shifted the focus from external ideals, such as science or societal progress, to the internal realm of personal experience and expression. Pollock’s work became a testament to the belief in the authenticity and significance of the individual in an uncertain and existential world. It emphasized the power of the self as a subject worth exploring and trusting when other societal structures seemed unreliable (Janson 1991: 1039). This emotional depth in his paintings is yet another aspect connecting them to nature. They evoke a wide range of emotions, much like the varied and unpredictable emotions nature can elicit—from tranquility to chaos, from awe-inspiring beauty to raw power.
1.3.Soothing fractals
One can also try to analyze Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings through the lens of fractal geometry, as did Richard P. Taylor (1999). He described how Pollock’s paintings exhibit fractal properties. Fractals are complex patterns that reoccur at different scales and are often observed in nature. The fact that Pollock’s work could be interpreted as containing fractal elements might suggest a strong, even if unconscious, link between his art and natural patterns. The analysis used the box-counting method and it involved overlaying a grid of squares over images of Pollock’s paintings and counting the number of squares containing part of the drip patterns. By changing the size of the squares and analyzing how the number of occupied squares changes, they could calculate the fractal dimension of the patterns.
The findings suggest that Pollock was evolving the fractal dimensions in his works throughout his career. Earlier works had a lower fractal dimension value, indicating less complex patterns, while later works showed more complexity. This progression suggests a constant refining of the technique and incorporation of increasingly complex patterns into Pollock’s art (Taylor 1999).
The usage of the scientific method like fractal analysis to study art offers a new understanding of both. By bridging the gap between the two, we can see that artistic processes can have underlying mathematical and natural principles. In Pollock’s case, this highlights how his seemingly chaotic and random drip patterns can actually be interpreted as following a natural order (Taylor 1999). While traditional art criticism often relies on historical context, stylistic analysis, and the artist’s biography, Taylor’s method offers a more quantifiable and arguably objective perspective.
Not only is the fractal interpretation interesting because of its novelty and originality, but it also can tell us a bit about why Pollock’s art is appealing to so many people. Taylor conducted another research; one that was concerned with the impact of fractal patterns on human perception and well-being. By using EEG and functional MRI to measure brain responses to geometric fractal images, the researchers found that these mid-range fractals triggered feel-good alpha brainwaves associated with a wakefully relaxed state. The findings suggest that mid-range fractals activate brain regions linked to visual processing, spatial memory, and emotional regulation, akin to the brain’s response while listening to music, which could also correspond to the idea of abstract art being capable of showing something beyond the visual sense. Taylor draws parallels between the fractal dimension found in Pollock’s paintings and natural elements like trees and mineral veins, indicating a kinship between these patterns and their effect on human emotions and cognition. The human visual system appears to be inherently attuned to fractals. Taylor’s use of an eye-tracking machine revealed that our pupils follow a fractal-like scanning pattern when viewing images, similar to the search trajectories seen in animals foraging for food. This efficient search strategy seems to resonate with the fractal structure of the eye, leading to stress reduction and enhanced visual processing when exposed to familiar fractal patterns (Williams 2017).
The use of fractal analysis to study Pollock’s paintings is particularly intriguing, as it allows for a more objective examination of his work’s development and complexity. The findings that Pollock’s most complex works coincided with specific periods in his life suggest a strong link between his personal experiences and artistic evolution. This connection underscores the depth and personal nature of his work, countering criticisms like those from art critic Robert Coates who dismissed Pollock’s work as „unorganized explosions of random energy” (as quoted in McElroy 2010). Fractals can show us that there was a method behind the madness of Pollock’s masterpieces, that there had to have been an idea that embellished the abstract compositions, and that, despite the subconscious aspect of painting such a picture, with experience Pollock not only improved in his craft, but became even more attached to the natural processes that guided his works.
1.4.Conclusions
Just like grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and water flows, so does Jackson Pollock’s art enamor the viewer with its intricacy and power that imitates the boundlessness of nature. The way Pollock’s paintings unfold, the viewer’s perception of them can mirror the experience of observing natural landscapes or phenomena. The deep connection between his artistic process and the organic, uncontrolled essence of the natural world is visible in almost all aspects of his work. His approach to art aimed to capture the raw energy and essence of nature rather than creating a direct representation of it. In light of the presented evidence it is fair to concur with Pollock when he said that he was “nature.” Through the usage of fractals, the metaphorical representations of the natural processes, and the wildness at heart of his painting, Pollock managed to revolutionize art and more than any other painter change our perspective on how arts and sciences can cooperate in order to enrich both. While it is impossible to claim that with any certainty, this combination of unlikely partners may become more and more prevalent in art criticism over time and be applied to other painters as well. While that could potentially mean we lose some of the beauty of free interpretation of abstract art, if we treat the scientific interpretations with some distance, I believe we can only gain new insights into fantastic pieces of art without sacrificing their ambiguity. After all, the sunset is not any less beautiful only because it can be explained optically and neurologically.
References:
Abrams, Meyer Howard. 1953. The mirror and the lamp: romantic theory and the critical tradition. London, 157.
Arnason, H. Harvard and Elizabeth Mansfield. 2013. History of modern art: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography. (Seventh Edition.) Boston: Pearson, 384-386.
McElroy, Steven. 2010. „If It’s So Easy, Why Don’t You Try It?”. (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/nyregion/05spotli.html) (date of access: 04.01.2024).
Schreyach, Michael. 2007. “‘I am Nature’: Science and Jackson Pollock”. Apollo: The International Art Magazine, 35-43.
Taylor, Richard, Adam Micolich and David Jonas. 1999. “Fractal analysis of Pollock’s drip paintings”. Nature 399, 422.
Williams, Florence. 2017. „Why Fractals Are So Soothing”. (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/why-fractals-are-so-soothing/514520/) (date of access: 04.01.2024).
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