Pollack

After your further reflections on "Pollock" and thoughts on how it relates to "Basquiat," choose a scene from "Pollock" and try analyzing it according to exercise #2 in your textbook on p. 86 (briefly discussed in class Sept. 8).

Though Pollock and Basquiat were stylistically different, both artists shared a common trait that stereotypically afflicted most artists: the inability to overcome oneself in pursuit of achieving artistic greatness. Simply stated, Pollock and Basquiat both had histories of some kind of mental illness; but it must be noted that the underlying issue which tragically took the creative breath of these artists was their inability to quit their vices. It was their substance abuse that was influencing their lives, and thus, the high they found through their addictive choices which ended up influencing their art. The films differ in how they portray the two artists creative conception--where thought was changed to physical action. Pollock's film was much more biographically based, not taking us on the "trippy" fantasy story of the artist's thoughts that we see in Basquiat; instead the film shows us Pollock's method as a painter and how his alcoholic tendencies combined with emotional instability led to his "break-through" moments as an artist. Like Basquiat, Pollock's addiction contributed to the chaos in his life, and his mental breakdown as an artist. We see a child-like vulnerability in both, but none-so-much as in the scene where Pollock was curled up in the fetal position on his bed crying. This kind of vulnerability renders us (as the audience) fixated on the character and the visual portrayal of his destruction. Like a bad car accident, we want to look away, but can't help to watch with horror, wanting to prevent it, but completely unable to help. I think the most poignant concept illustrated in both films is how the recognition of achievement and fame also created the downfall of the artist. Both Pollock and Basquiat crumbled under the pressure of social expectations, critique, and demand. Thus, the art that is an interpretation of life transcends to the artist who bows to society's representation and expectation of them. So then, the tragic ending to both Pollock and Basquiat's life begs us, as an audience, to think about why we, as a society create the person (the artist), building them up, only in turn to tear them down.

In Pollock's film, the cinematic use of sound heightened the chaos of the scene and added to Pollack's mental instability. The one scene that jumped out at me was where Pollock, his family, and his girlfriend were sitting down for a holiday meal. Pollock's brother announced that he and his wife would be moving away. This touched a nerve of Pollock's and sent him over the edge. Pollock quickly went and turned up the diagetic music playing in the background. The heightened sound level in not able to be controlled (by us as the viewer), so this transcends to the fact that this outburst by Pollock also cannot and will not be controlled. Pollock began to repeat a sentence over and over, creating a manic mood which makes us question his coherence. Granted, he had been drinking, but the chaos that ensued was much more than just a drunken outburst--it was more reminiscent of a childish tantrum, exposing the vulnerability of Pollock and his deeply unresolved abandonment issues. Soon Pollock began banging his silverware on the table, continuing to repeat the sentence. The loud audible level of the music combined with Pollock's ritualistic repetition of the sentence and frantically elevating of banging of the silverware on the table shed light on the inner emotions and anxieties of Pollock. This scene acted as a mirror, reflecting the frustration, confusion, mania and intensity that consumed Pollock's life and art.