His most famous painting – Number 1 (Lavender Mist) – Jackson Pollock
American painter Jackson Pollock was a pioneer of ‘Abstract Expressionism’. He painted his groundbreaking work, “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)”, in 1950, on a huge 7’3″ x 9’10” canvas, using an innovative ‘Drip’ painting style. “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)” is a mesmerizing explosion of colors including pale blue, dusty pink, grey, white and black, which when combined impart a lavender hue. Therefore, the art critic Clement Greenberg gave it the name “Lavender Mist”.
There is a clear absence of any theme or context in the painting. Jackson Pollock intended viewers to decipher the painting based on their own subconscious. In harmony, Pollock simply numbered his painting instead of naming it, because he wanted his work to be viewed without preconceived ideas. “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)” looks like an intricate web of colors, scattered wildly across the canvas. Pollock simply laid the canvas on the floor and then randomly spilled and splattered paint everywhere. He walked across the entire canvas as he instinctively worked on the pattern.
Due to the gestural nature of his painting style, he was called an ‘action painter’. He used his hands, brushes, sticks, knives, or even palettes to manipulate the dripping colors. Pollack claimed that there was no accident in his painting and that the irregular spiraling weave of colors created by paint splatters had a controlled rhythm. There are multiple handprints along the upper edges of the painting, however it is not known if they serve a purpose. Pollock used house enamel paint for “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)”, as he found its consistency to be smoother and easier to work with, compared to the thickness of oil paint.
The art world greeted Jackson’s “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)” with mixed feelings. Several art lovers adored Pollock’s work, while some critics simply dismissed it as a sick joke. At a glance, “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)” may seem like just a piece of granite, but when observed carefully, the powerful chaos of colors awakens subconscious feelings. The painting found many interpretations. Some people felt that the painting looked like a photograph of an astronomical view of galaxies. There was a controversial view that Pollock had been thinking of a nuclear holocaust while he was painting “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)” and had depicted an aerial view of a destroyed city.
Jackson Pollock perfected the technique of channeling his spontaneous energy with his subconscious mood to manipulate the paint to create the remarkable and inimitable “Number 1 (Lavender Mist).” The painting is currently in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
