Jackson Pollock

Directed by and starring Academy Award(r) nominee (for Best Actor) Ed Harris (The Truman Show, The Rock), POLLOCK is a beautifully-crafted, stunning drama about the legendary American painter, Jackson Pollock. Fellow artists and lovers, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner are at the center of New York's 1940s art scene, but as Krasner neglects her work to push Pollock's career forward, Pollock begins to unravel emotionally. Pollock and Krasner escape to the country and marry and, soon, Pollock creates work that makes him the first internationally-famous modern painter in America. But, with fame andfortune, comes a volatile temper and severe self-doubt, before long, Pollock's life threatens to explode. Featuring exceptional performances by a stellar cast, including Academy Award(r) winner Marcia Gay Harden (Meet Joe Black, The First Wives Club), Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck), Val Kilmer (The Saint, Heat) and Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream).

Synopsis: A vivid, intense biography of abstract artist Jackson Pollock - from his early days in NYC, meeting fellow artist and lover Lee Krasner (Oscar-winning role for Marcia Gay Harden), and his struggle with addiction and fame. USA - 2000 - R

Lee Krasner studied cubism at Cooper Union and worked as a full-time artist as part of the New Deal's Federal Art Project. In 1945, she married Jackson Pollock, and her keen critical eye helped to strengthen both of their work.

An icon of Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock is best known for his drip paintings, as well as his battle with alcoholism.

Pollock left Manhattan for the more rural environment of East Hampton, where he started his poured painting technique: 'Jack the Dripper'. Jack was a tortured, monosyllabic, alcohol-dependent soul, swinging between sensitivity and machismo. He died in a car accident when separated from his wfe, who made his career for him. Eyes in the Heat was bought by his supporter and dealer Peggy Guggenheim. Look for the rhythms and flow in the threads of paint, they may be instinctive but they are not arbitary or careless: the Eyes are watching you. See the original in the exquisite Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice which was Peggy Guggenheim's home and is now her Collection. to discover more visit: http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/ to fly to Venice : http://www.alitalia.com/

Art in Motion with Action Artist Matt Cheney Few artists can say they created a painting while free falling from an airplane. For 25-year-old action artist Matt Cheney, it s all in a day s work. Though it may seem unconventional, action sports are as much a form of artistic expression as they are competitive sports. And Cheney has further explored the idea of action sports as art by integrating activities like snowboarding, skateboarding and skydiving with oil painting. Here s how Cheney s action art is inspired by abstract painters like Jackson Pollock and Saburo Murakami who defined action painting during the abstract expressionist movement of the Post WWII era. Intrigued by the performative nature of action painting, Cheney uses various action sports (which he loves) to create the movement behind his work. Working with a crew of several people, Cheney uses video cameras and still photography to document the visual experience of his paintings. The whole process for how it s done, from the oil paints to mixing the pigments and thinking about the composition, is free spirited and spontaneous. I love the idea of preserving a moment in time. For his senior project at the Art Institute of Boston, Cheney built a halfpipe in a studio and created paintings like Pink on Black while skating up and down the halfpipe. -Dana Ranill

Few artists can say they created a painting while free falling from an airplane. For 25-year-old action artist Matt Cheney, it s all in a day s work. Though it may seem unconventional, action sports are as much a form of artistic expression as they are competitive sports. And Cheney has further explored the idea of action sports as art by integrating activities like snowboarding, skateboarding and skydiving with oil painting. Here s how Cheney s action art is inspired by abstract painters like Jackson Pollock and Saburo Murakami who defined action painting during the abstract expressionist movement of the Post WWII era. Intrigued by the performative nature of action painting, Cheney uses various action sports (which he loves) to create the movement behind his work. Working with a crew of several people, Cheney uses video cameras and still photography to document the visual experience of his paintings. The whole process for how it s done, from the oil paints to mixing the pigments and thinking about the composition, is free spirited and spontaneous. I love the idea of preserving a moment in time. For his senior project at the Art Institute of Boston, Cheney built a halfpipe in a studio and created paintings like Pink on Black while skating up and down the halfpipe. Cheney embarked on his largest scaled painting to date. With the help of Waterville Valley in New Hampshire, he designed a 12 x 8 canvas wall ride structure at the base of a jump, which he painted using his snowboard as a big palette knife. -Dana Ranill

Few artists can say they created a painting while free falling from an airplane. For 25-year-old action artist Matt Cheney, it s all in a day s work. Though it may seem unconventional, action sports are as much a form of artistic expression as they are competitive sports. And Cheney has further explored the idea of action sports as art by integrating activities like snowboarding, skateboarding and skydiving with oil painting. Here s how Cheney s action art is inspired by abstract painters like Jackson Pollock and Saburo Murakami who defined action painting during the abstract expressionist movement of the Post WWII era. Intrigued by the performative nature of action painting, Cheney uses various action sports (which he loves) to create the movement behind his work. Working with a crew of several people, Cheney uses video cameras and still photography to document the visual experience of his paintings. The whole process for how it s done, from the oil paints to mixing the pigments and thinking about the composition, is free spirited and spontaneous. I love the idea of preserving a moment in time. For his senior project at the Art Institute of Boston, Cheney built a halfpipe in a studio and created paintings like Pink on Black while skating up and down the halfpipe. Cheney embarked on his largest scaled painting to date. With the help of Waterville Valley in New Hampshire, he designed a 12 x 8 canvas wall ride structure at the base of a jump, which he painted using his snowboard as a big palette knife. -Dana Ranill

Artist Statement Matthew Cheney My paintings are processed based. My art often reflects the way I live: action, motion, and the movement of my body are important in the work I do. Accordingly, my process of painting is highly performative: 'Pink on black', was painted while skate boarding. Oils on canvas are my primary medium. My sporting activities are often integrated into my work whether it is skydiving, snowboarding, skate boarding or simply a more mundane action. In my most recent work I mix diverse elements: paints, video, performance, carpentry, environmental effects and sporting equipment. The subject matter in my work is often less important than the process. My subject matter is abstract expressionism. I am interested in exploring the legacy of Action Painters such as Jackson Pollock. By integrating sports that I love however, expressing myself becomes something uniquely different. I often do not know what the final results will be. My work is very conceptual, although I enjoy the challenge of making representational art. Because my work is process oriented, Jackson Pollock s movement on canvas and Matthew Barney s performance art have been influential in the development of my idea of making process based work. I have as much passion in the sports I do as in my painting. Contrasting the performance art of Saburo Murakami, my work uses modern day sport, painting and media together. By creating action art I am unifying these passions while drawing attention to the excitement of movement check out lots more of matt cheneys action art at www.mattcheney.com

Who Gets To Call It Art? movie trailer - starring David Hockney, Mark Di Suvero, Henry Geldzahler, Larry Poons, James Rosenquist, Frank Stella. Directed by Peter Rosen. Theatrical Release Date: 2/1/2006 Genre: Documentary Rating: Not Rated

Frustrations flare when Paulie sees that Mikey's Jackson Pollock-inspired technique has splattered paint all over Paul Jr. Design's driveway.

Pollock -- A film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.