Jackson Pollock: Key Interviews, Articles, And Reviews [Paperback]

Pepe Karmel (Editor), Jackson Pollock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2002

This anthology surveys five decades of critical response to Jackson Pollock, bringing together essential and hard-to-find texts from newspapers, journals, and catalogues. It includes all of Pollock's statements about his art as well as interviews with his wife, painter Lee Krasner, providing firsthand testimony about his goals and methods. Reviews of Pollock's early exhibitions reveal the intense interest his work aroused even before he arrived at his famous technique of "dripping" paint. Later articles trace the growth of Pollock's myth after his death in 1956 and document the continuing debate over psychological and mythological interpretations of Pollock's work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 1st ed edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870700375
• ISBN-13: 978-0870700378
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,762,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Abstract Expressionism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Norton Critical Edition of Jackson Pollock, December 20, 2002

By 

christopher wren "christopher_wren" (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson Pollock: Key Interviews, Articles, And Reviews (Paperback)

The intended and proper audience for this terrific book is the deeply engaged Pollock student (or acolyte). Further, the volume has no artwork or pictures at all; if you're looking for a good edition of his paintings, try the wonderful MOMA exhibition catalogue, edited by Kirk Varnedoe. What this volume offers is a rich and engaging range of Pollock statements, interviews, art reviews, criticism, analysis, and aesthetic speculation. Together with a good book of his paintings, this book would give you a sort of "Norton Critical Edition" of Pollock's work--you'd have the paintings and then this record of decades of analysis.
Now, in a few cases the lack of pictures does actually hinder one's ability to follow all of the comparisons and insights these essays offer. This is especially true in this book's generous reprint of William Rubin's seminal "Jackson Pollock and the Modern Tradition", originally serialized with copious illustrations. Nonetheless this book presents, chronologically, a tremendous overview of the 20th century's evolving reception and understanding of Pollock's art, from his own published or radio-broadcast commentary to Life magazine's ambiguous (but myth-making) "Is He the Greatest Living Painter in America?" to Clement Greenberg to psychoanalytical writings to Elizabeth Langhorne's allusive and speculative examination of a single painting, "The Moon Woman Cuts the Circle." It's a great book to just pick at, what with its variety and scope, and each page poses something for consideration or debate--to the person who really knows Pollock's work and its underpinnings well. I wish this book had included something from John Berger; what the book "Such Desperate Joy" includes from him is really provocative and efficient. But I suppose that's a petty criticism in light of what this book does assemble, making availiable in one place all of this critical investigation into one of the 20th century's great artists.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Supplement, November 6, 2002

By 

david mattingly (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson Pollock: Key Interviews, Articles, And Reviews (Paperback)

This book is the type of art book that is the exception to the picture rule. The fact that there are no pictures doesn't detract a bit from the abundant amount of information it contains. I suspect greatly that this is the type of book that only those initiated into the Pollock milieu (and his work) would want to read anyhow. A fantastic source of nostalgia and information that allows the informed reader the opportunity to fill in some blanks on his own.