Jackson Pollock, Action Painting and Jazz

In January 2012 Ms. Optie and Ms. Schwartz’s Kindergarten class had their first Art Talk of the year covering the ground-breaking American Abstract-Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock. The focus of the talk was on his “action paintings” (also called “drip paintings”) and the influence that Jazz played on Pollock.

Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1911 and spent his early years in Arizona and California. At age 18 he followed his brothers to New York City where he eventually became a celebrity of the "New York School," thanks to Peggy Guggenheim who was his benefactor.

Pollock started out as a realistic painter and later became an abstract painter. He began using the drip or action method of painting when he was 34-years-old, in 1946. He continued to paint in this style until his untimely death in 1956. Pollock listened to his collection of Jazz records while making his action paintings in his studio on Long Island, New York. Photos and the 1951 film by Hans Namuth clearly show how much movement and repetitive rhythms made his paintings look so expressive.

CLASSROOM PROJECT:

After introducing the class to Jackson Pollock through a slideshow on the SmartBoard and viewing an edited version of the Hans Namuth 1951 film we set-up a "canvas" made of 30 pieces of thick watercolor paper on the floor of the classroom.

Each child participated in creating a group “action painting.” They listened to the same Jazz music that influenced Jackson Pollock as they created the painting and a new slideshow played of Pollock's paintings.

We discussed how the Jazz that was playing made them feel and encouraged the students to "dance" as they painted. We provided 6 squeeze-bottles filled with tempera paint that the kids could squeeze and make patterns with as they danced around the entire canvas.

The individual pieces of paper were used so that each child would have a section of the large painting to take home.

Everyone had a blast!!

Here is the list of the songs we listened to while painting:

Jack The Bellboy by Lionel Hampton
Boogie Woogie by Count Basie and Orchestra
Boff Boff (Mop Mop) by Coleman Hawkins
Central Avenue Breakdown by Lionel Hampton
Carolina Shout by Fats Waller
Mahogany Hall Stomp by Louis Armstrong

The adults loved it too:



The entire Art Talk is scripted out along with a slideshow and film. There is a cd of the music played and a second slideshow of 22 of Pollock's paintings. A take-home hand-out is also available.

There is a Jackson Pollock action painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, Greyed Rainbow from 1953 and it can be found in the Contemporary Art Gallery 289B.Go to www.ARTIC.edu for more information.

Go to www.JACKSONPOLLOCK.org for a Jackson Pollock “action” painting activity. It is also available as an iPhone app