Untitled III (1950) by Jackson Pollock

The artist Jackson Pollock loved to experiment throughout his career, both with different artistic styles but also in the mediums that he used. During 1950 he would use something similar to an everyday straw in order to blow paint around pieces of paper, and the artwork captured here is one example of that.

Pollock used something similar to a household straw in order to manipulate ink around these small sheets of paper. It was purely experimental, in the same way other ideas had also been investigated in a similar way. He would not commence his huge canvas works until he knew how he was going to work. They look to many like random expressions of fun, but actually he put a lot of thought into each one prior to working on them. Everything from the colour scheme to the way in which he paint or pencil stroke was administered would be considered first so that the final result would be precisely as he desired. He liked the ease of drawing which enabled him to quickly try things out without any great overhead, and he could simply sit and try things out.

Expression and creativity was a key part of 20th century art. All of the principles from previous centuries were tossed aside by a number of like-minded individuals who wanted to produce something new and entirely democratic within the art world. The impact of this is still very much being felt today, though some still prefer the older methods which they believe hold a greater level of integrity. The positive element of the present is that there is room for all of these different approaches and that most will respect them equally, whilst then making their own personal preference based on their particular tastes.

This item can be found at MoMA in the US, which itself has one of the largest collections of artworks from this artist's career, anywhere in the world. They specialise specifically on 20th century art and particularly on American and European artists. You will find most of the greats from this period featured somewhere within their collection, but be warned that if you are looking to view a specific item, check ahead that it is actually on display as they own so many artworks that there is a continual rotation between the display areas and storage in order to freshen up the offering on a regular basis. All of the most famous paintings will be out all year round, in most cases, but lesser known artworks such as this may not be. Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk and Vir Heroicus Sublimis can be found here, as well as Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, which itself remains one of the most famous paintings of all time.