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07 January 2012

Pollock vs. Mondrian

My artwork is going to be on display in the local library for the next two months. Whoot. And because I, of course, create High Art (note capital A), I had to associate myself with two of The Greats of the 20th century. I painted this piece a number of years ago, just to get it out of my system. It's called "Pollock vs. Mondrian", and it's acrylic on board, about 16x24". The note following is going to accompany the piece in the library. I fully expect a tremendous rush on all the library books about Abstract Expressionism, because people will be terribly eager to learn all about that stuff now.



"Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian were painters in the Abstract Expressionist and De Stijl movements, respectively, and were active in the 1930's and 40's. Mondrian is best known for his paintings consisting of grids of black lines with primary-coloured squares inside them, Pollock for his splatter paintings.

Their paintings used to drive me crazy - anyone with a paint roller and some masking tape can copy a Mondrian, and Pollock, well, all you need is a loaded paintbrush and a large drop sheet on the floor! I've since come to appreciate what they were trying to do, and, more importantly, the tremendous influence they had on the art world.

This painting is my nod to those two giants of the paint brush- or the paint roller and dip stick, as it were. Thanks for the fun, Mr. Pollock and Dhr. Mondrian!"

Oh, and the Ink People are going to be very much in evidence at the library, too. I've discovered that when I'm trying to be serious, I turn out lame stuff; but when I'm fooling around and having fun, something interesting might just come of it. Or not. But if not, I've not lost anything either, so it's all good. And that's not just true for art, either.

Life, the Universe, and Abstract Expressionism. Oh, that's so me, man.
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7 comments:

  1. Cephas (Peter Steager)7/1/12 09:33

    I hear you on the serious vs fun stuff. It's the story of my life. Maybe the distinction only blinds us to the real basis of all creativity which is play. When we're playing we're really real.

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  2. Bonnie Heather7/1/12 09:43

    I want to come! When will you be there to show me around. Coffee?

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  3. AMOffenwanger7/1/12 13:52

    @Bonnie: yes, let's do coffee! I'll ping you.

    @Peter: exactly.

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  4. Unknown7/1/12 16:30

    Very cool! You could be starting something here :)

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  5. Heather8/1/12 07:43

    How fun, Angelika! Yay to you for putting your work on display. That's fantastic (and, to my mind, takes courage - it can be scary to put our work out there).

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  6. AMOffenwanger8/1/12 13:19

    Thanks! It's actually not the first time I've had it up in the library, so it's not nearly as big a deal as it was 7 years ago. That time, it was a major milestone for me as artist; this time, it's just fun!

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  7. Talli Roland10/1/12 04:44

    Fantastic! And even better that it's just fun. That's the best!

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