Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was an American Abstract Expressionist painter during the 20th century. He is most accredited for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. Pollock began painting after getting expelled from his high school. Later, he was expelled from art school and moved to New York in order to continue studying painting. Through out his life, Pollock was characterized as having a volatile personality. Today, some hypothesize that he had bipolar disorder. Pollock continued painting, developing a rhythmic style of painting. Upon getting married, Pollock also bought an old barn that he used as his studio. Here, Pollock developed his indistinguishable style of painting. Using liquid based paint, hardened brushes, and basting syringes, Pollock would nail a piece of unstretched canvas to the floor. This unconventional technique he claimed, made him feel more at ease and allowed him to become part of the painting, walking around the piece, surrounded by the piece, or painting the piece from each of its four corners. Pollock became engrossed in his paintings and while receiving fame and notoriety, he was characterized as being a reclusive artist. Although Pollock fought alcoholism his entire, he was eventually consumed by his habit. At the age of 45 Pollock died in an alcohol related driving  accident. Following are a few of Pollock's pieces:

Later in his career, Pollock stopped naming his painting. Instead he numbered them. He believed that by simple numbering each painting the viewer was left unaffected by a name and was left to see the picture for what it was, a pure painting.