The painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is a central figure in Abstract Expressionism. World famous during his lifetime, the artist notably used the technique of dripping (or “dripping” in French), which consists of letting paint flow onto a canvas, or splashing it with several different colors. A technique which detractors claim can be mastered by “any child”.
In a recent study, published in the journal Frontiers in Physics and reported by the media Ars Technica, seven researchers conducted an analysis of splash paintings made by adults and young children. They then compared them to those of Jackson Pollock, which revealed that the children’s works bore a greater resemblance to those of the artist. A result which could be explained by a certain clumsiness in terms of balance, linked to the physiology of the painter.
Richard Taylor, a physicist at the University of Oregon and co-author of the study, was the first to detect fractal patterns in Jackson Pollock’s seemingly random drips, in 2001. (Note that a fractal figure refers to a mathematical object that has the same structure at all scales, like… romanesco cabbage.) The researcher then used this fractal analysis to try to distinguish works by Jackson Pollock and reproductions –this is the same technique that was used for the new comparative study with children.
At the time, Richard Taylor was particularly criticized for his attempt to use fractal analysis as the basis of an authentication tool to distinguish genuine Pollocks from counterfeits. The researcher concedes that much of this criticism was well-founded, but to justify himself, he cites a 2015 study based on machine learning and relying, among other things, on the fractal dimension, which achieved an accuracy rate of 93% in distinguishing genuine Pollocks from counterfeits.
The art of (im)balance
Richard Taylor is not the first scientist to detect physical phenomena underlying Jackson Pollock’s masterpieces. The painter would therefore most certainly have relied on the principles of physics to create his works, consciously or not. He played with the texture and viscosity of his paints, often adding solvents to thicken or thin them. A video from 1950 shows him at work, saying: “I control the flow of the paint. Nothing is due to chance.”
The technique of dripping Pollock’s painting consisted of laying a canvas flat on the ground and pouring paint onto it. The artist then usually moved “rhythmically” around the canvas as he worked. “Popular works thus describe Pollock as a graceful ballet dancer, explains Richard Taylor. But in reality, Pollock was renowned for his clumsiness.
Other famous artists have also had to deal with physical limits which influenced their work, such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh or Willem de Kooning. “I have always been fascinated by the fact that great works of art can be born from what, in everyday life, would be a limit”analyzes Richard Taylor. This is how the researcher came to wonder if Jackson Pollock’s lack of balance was not the key to his creative process and the reason why children imitate him better than adults.
“When you look at photos of Pollock, you see that he leaned over more than necessary, concludes Richard Taylor. He was therefore clearly not a victim of his physiology, he used it to produce this effect of fractal fluidity. He certainly wasn’t aware of it, but he felt the magic when he found that perfect balance.”
