Jackson Pollock was an American painter and a leading figure in the abstract expressionist movement — which is a way of saying he pioneered a style where the chaos was the point. His technique of dripping, pouring, and flinging paint directly onto canvases laid flat on the floor became so influential it has its own name: action painting.
His most famous works include No. 5, 1948, which sold at auction for $140 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold. Blue Poles. Lavender Mist. If you stare at them long enough they either become deeply meaningful or deeply nothing, depending on the day.
I do not fling paint. I do not sell paintings for $140 million. I am a person on the internet with a different last name that happens to share a first name with a dead abstract expressionist. We’re all just doing our best.