Jackson Pollock: Veiling the Image [Hardcover]

Donald Wigal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

Born in 1912, in a small town in Wyoming, Jackson Pollock embodied the American dream as the country found itself confronted with the realities of a modern era replacing the fading nineteenth century. Pollock left home in search of fame and fortune in New York City. Thanks to the Federal Art Project, he quickly won acclaim, and after the Second World War became the biggest art celebrity in America. For De Kooning, Pollock was the "icebreaker." For Max Ernst and Masson, Pollock was a fellow member of the European surrealist movement. And for Motherwell, Pollock was a legitimate candidate for the status of the Master of the American School. During the many upheavals in his life in New York in the 1950s and 60s, Pollock lost his bearings--success had simply come too fast and too easily. It was during this period that he turned to alcohol and disintegrated his marriage to Lee Krasner. His life ended, like that of 50's film icon James Dean, behind the wheel of his Oldsmobile, after a night of drinking. This book throws light on a new era in art and on the personality of Pollock, the undisputed master of Abstract American Expressionism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In the beginning, the canvas is white, void; then the cautious start, then the running of the paint from the pot onto the white of the surface..."

About the Author

Wigal holds degrees in music, adult education, and liturgical theology, all of which he has taught at universities, along with Gregorian chant and film education. He also has certification from the Institute for Spiritual Theology and from the University of the City of New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Parkstone Press (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859959555
• ISBN-13: 978-1859959558
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 10.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,293,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I suggest that the various international editions of Amazon be consulted also. For example, there are a dozen of my books translated into Japanese and appear in the Amazon site for that language. Nearly as many are in French, some in German, and a few in Spanish. One co-authored book is in a dozen languages. A nearly complete list of my published books is at dwigal.com along with a slide show of spot illustrations available for a small fee to publishers. The site includes some corrections to several on-line entries. There are, for example, at least three books attributed to me that I didn't write and several that I did write that are attributed [also] to others for some reason. There are several self-published works not listed on-line, such as a co-authored novella, booklets of light verse, and such for a small target group. BTW, the Contemporary Authors article on me is a rip off and decades old.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overarching new vision of Pollock for today, July 1, 2006

By 

William Rabinovitch (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jackson Pollock: Veiling the Image (Hardcover)

Wigal's "Veiling the Image" is a new vision of Pollock -- something completely grand & overarching as nothing else I've read & reinvigorates things for today's minds. It's complex, incredibly interesting, imaginative & makes one desire to re-engage with it's sense of contemporary relevancy & beauty. The text is fascinating & compelling -- actually awesome & totally readable. It examines Harris's film & moves forward to 2005 including interviews about my own yet to be released www.Pollocksquared.com indie feature.

Wigal's incredibly researched all of this not only philosophically but poured it all out in more fresh ways than one can imagine with wonderful fresh vignettes not only about Pollock in great detail but his milieux including Ruth Kligman, DeKooning, Agnes Martin, Frank O'Hara, Larry Rivers, includes references to many artists & critics of today including fractal scientist Richard Taylor. It even explores the market as related to Pollock's prices. The perfect unified one in all book for any Pollock lover or for people who never got it before -- because they will now. Does what other books can't. It looks like publisher Parkstone spared no expense in every aspect of quality control with this wonderful & beautiful production. It makes sense for today's modern audience.

For myself as an artist the vast number of large Pollock reproductions & their clarity of color & sharpness surpass by far the best I've seen of any Pollock's before. They're in a class by themselves. Many images were also completely new to me & very appreciated. Wigal's made it all happen, every aspect, coming totally alive in fresh imaginative ways in dimensions I've never remotely seen explored before.
I'll be exploring it for a long while.

Bill Rabinovitch
[e-mail]
www.Pollocksquared.com

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A looking and reading pleasure, June 5, 2006

By 

Rhett Segall - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson Pollock: Veiling the Image (Hardcover)

What a delight this book is. Pollock's paintings are presented in their historical and cultural context. The text drew me more and more into Pollock's world, making me eager to look, really look, more and more at the spectacular paintings. In the reading and the looking I felt like I was traveling the path of this unique American artist in his process of self-discovery and artistic expression. This book is a real pleasure! I'm going back to read and look again!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pollock Unveiled, August 12, 2006

By 

Joseph H, Wessling "Joseph H. Wessling" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jackson Pollock: Veiling the Image (Hardcover)

I must confess to having litle appreciation of the work of Jackson Pollock before reading Donald Wigal's "Pollock: Veiling the Image." This was surely due in large part to my bias in favor of representational art--a bias that endures. But this book has brought me to a genuine appreciation of a major artist. A light went on when I read: "Several artists stress the theme about Abstract Expressionism in theory, but some acted it out less convincingly in their work. Likewise, other artists observe the effect paint has when dripped on to a surface, but none before Pollock developed it into the brilliant visual polyphony he made happen" (94). That phrase, "brilliant visual polyphony," was the light switch. I suddenly realized the kinship between abstract impressionism and music. I would never have demanded that a concerto have an identifiable subject. Thanks to Donald Wigal and to the marvelous reproductions in this book, I now recognize that Pollock is at his best when he is least representational, and that Pollock at his best is brilliant.
It occurs to me that there is a polyphonic quality to Wigal's text that mirrors the subject: There is, within a clear organization, a polyphonic overlay of cultural history, biographical fact, psychological observations, and critical insights, that is ingeniously suited to the complexity of the subject. Here art criticism reaches a high artistic level in its own right, and I find myself personally enriched.
If "Jackson Pollock: Veiling the Image" can do for others what it has done for me, it should be a valuable and enduring contribution to art criticism.

Joseph H. Wessling