Fun fact! Jackson Pollock, along with other abstract expressionists, was a CIA propaganda asset!
The CIA believed that abstract expressionism, with its unbound and individualistic style, could be associated with American freedoms, so they secretly funded the "Congress for Cultural Freedom", an anti-communist advocacy group that promoted American arts and culture, including abstract expressionism, through international art shows and publications.
Art or writings that touched on US racism (Pollock was contemporaneous with numerous lynchings) and imperialism (Guatemala, Iran, Greece, Korea) were, of course, passed over.
Ever since I learned this, I have lost all emotional appreciation for his works. While before they seemed free, now they seem cheap.
> Ever since I learned this, I have lost all emotional appreciation for his works. While before they seemed free, now they seem cheap.
I don't understand this. Because he got paid for it, the work is cheap? Do you think he would've made different works if the CIA hadn't funded his art shows? I struggle to imagine what a Pollock "about" racism would look like, and how the CIA would notice that it's about racism.
I mean you do you, I don't mean to tell you you can't dislike someone's art. I just really don't get it :D
It reeks of the same stench as cancel culture. Once some people have seen a connection to something they dont like, they just cant bring themselves to enjoy that thing anymore. I guess those sorts of people like to fixate on what they hate.
The CIA believed that abstract expressionism, with its unbound and individualistic style, could be associated with American freedoms, so they secretly funded the "Congress for Cultural Freedom", an anti-communist advocacy group that promoted American arts and culture, including abstract expressionism, through international art shows and publications.
Art or writings that touched on US racism (Pollock was contemporaneous with numerous lynchings) and imperialism (Guatemala, Iran, Greece, Korea) were, of course, passed over.
Ever since I learned this, I have lost all emotional appreciation for his works. While before they seemed free, now they seem cheap.