Pollock (film)

Pollock is a 2000 biographical film which tells the life story of American painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan and Sada Thompson, and was directed by Harris.

Ed Harris received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Pollock. Marcia Gay Harden won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Lee Krasner, Pollock's wife. The film was a long-term personal project for Harris based on his previous reading of Pollock's biography.

Plot

The film begins showing the abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) autographing illustrations in a copy of Life magazine for a woman at an art exhibit in 1950 — the exhibit which made him famous.

The film flashes back to nine years earlier (1941). At this time Jackson is usually drunk and makes a living by exhibiting a painting in occasional group art shows. He is living with his brother Sande (and Sande's wife) in a tiny New York apartment. Sande's wife tells him that they are having a baby, hinting to Jackson that he should move out. Soon afterward, Jackson meets artist Lee Krasner, who takes an interest in him. Later, at dinner, he learns that his brother is moving to Connecticut to take a job building army gliders to avoid a rumored draft of married men not involved in war production. (Sande's wife refers to Jackson's 4F Selective Service status, which exempts Jackson from the draft.) Unable to handle conflicting feelings, Jackson goes on a drinking binge and Lee and Sande find him in a disheveled state. Lee learns from Sande that Jackson is diagnosed as "clinically neurotic" (he was actually bipolar); still, Lee takes him home and decides to be his manager.

Pollock

Pollock (alternatively spelled pollack; pronounced /ˈpɒlək/) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the Pollachius ("P.") genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P. pollachius include the Atlantic pollock, European pollock, lieu jaune, and lythe; while P. virens is sometimes known as Boston blues (distinct from bluefish), coalfish (or coley), silver bills or saithe.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus:

Description

Both species can grow to 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) and can weigh up to 46 lb (21 kg). P. virens has a strongly defined, silvery lateral line running down the sides. Above the lateral line, the color is a greenish black. The belly is white, while P. pollachius has a distinctly crocked lateral line, grayish to golden belly and a dark brown back. P. pollachius also has a strong under-bite. It can be found in water up to 100 fathoms (600 ft; 180 m) deep over rocks, and anywhere in the water column. Pollock are a "whitefish".

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Jackson Pollock

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956), known professionally as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his unique style of drip painting.

During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety; he was a major artist of his generation. Regarded as reclusive, he had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy.

Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related single-car accident when he was driving. In December 1956, several months after his death, Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. A larger, more comprehensive exhibition of his work was held there in 1967. In 1998 and 1999, his work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and at The Tate in London.