Although Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) is widely considered to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Tate Liverpool鈥檚 major new retrospective is the first exhibition in over thirty years to properly survey the artist鈥檚 late works.聽Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots has a recuperative agenda, according to assistant curator Stephanie Straine: 鈥渢he title really alludes to our blind spots, so what we fail to see in his practice. There鈥檚 a very focused understanding of Pollock that鈥檚 been overplayed through popular culture and around works such as Tiger 鈥 they鈥檙e incredibly important, but only account for four years of his practice, really.鈥
The exhibition does employ Pollock鈥檚 iconic drip paintings 鈥 with their hypnotic, disciplined vigour 鈥 but as an introduction and contrast to the later pieces, known as 鈥渂lack pourings鈥. A radical departure in the artist鈥檚 practice, these were created using enamel paint, which both stained and soaked into the unstretched, unprimed canvas. Though critically overlooked, the result is mesmeric: the ground of the canvas is both exposed and infused with blackness.聽鈥淭hey have more of a quiet insistence,鈥 says Straine of paintings that share the absorbing qualities of Rothko鈥檚 work. They are now extremely fragile due to Pollock鈥檚 unconventional use of enamel paint 鈥 essentially an industrial or household material (used to coat gutters, not canvases) 鈥 and techniques, which included thinning down the consistency so that he could use a basting syringe, drawing with it 鈥渓ike a giant fountain pen,鈥 as described by Pollock鈥檚 wife, Lee Krasner.
The emergence of the black pourings was also notable for having signalled a return to figuration, which featured at the start of Pollock鈥檚 career. Faces and figures appear in the second part of the show, frequently interpreted as psychologically symbolic for the artist; this idea is borne out by both the focus and title of Portrait and a Dream (1953), one of few named works on display.聽Broadly speaking, however, critics were confounded by the new direction. In fact, Straine suggests, it was other artists who first applauded the work: artists like Helen Frankenthaler, known collectively as the colour field painters, picked up Pollock鈥檚 techniques in the following years. And, as Straine points out, it鈥檚 here that the gendered reception of Pollock鈥檚 work becomes obvious. She says: 鈥渂ecause she stained the canvas Frankenthaler was characterized as making a passive, feminine gesture, whereas Pollock鈥檚 work was a virile ejaculation of paint dripping in an energetic way, where of course they both did both.鈥澛燭his sexualised interpretation joins other misconceptions about Pollock鈥檚 work, including his wife鈥檚 own suggestion that Mural was painted in a single night, when restorers have since found layers of paint worked on over weeks or even months. 鈥Blind Spots鈥, then, is a title that points to a range of oversights, both specific and general, that have crept in over the 100 years since Pollock鈥檚 birth.
Polly Checkland Harding
Jackson Pollock, Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots, until 18 October 2015, , Albert Dock, Liverpool Waterfront, L3 4BB.
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Credits
1. Jackson Pollock,聽Yellow Islands, 1952,聽Oil on canvas.聽Courtesy of聽Tate Gallery.
