Venezia, Mike. Jackson Pollack. (Rev. ed) Scholastic/Childrens Press 2017 32p $29.00
ISBN 978-0-531-22191-4 elem/ms Biography VG-BNs
What is most fascinating
about this Pollock biography is author Mike Venezia’s attempt to judge the art
without bias, not an easy feat with art in the abstract category. Of course, he fails in this attempt, but
readers will forgive him because he combines playful, creative cartoon-like
images with typical biographical data, hoping to interest young readers in
art. Venezia successfully shows the
beauty of Pollock’s paintings while at the same time he points out the
criticism of his abstracts. He covers Jackson’s early life, showing how he
painted using any old things that were around the house. The reader learns about Jackson’s talented
brothers, the family’s moves around the western part of the U. S., and Native
American influences in his paintings. In
the next stage of Pollock’s life, post high school, Venezia discusses Benton’s
influence over him. In this period,
Pollock was dissatisfied with his creations, and his dark side appeared. His teachers were undeterred by this dark
side, however, and continued to try to help him. Highly influenced by Orozco and Picasso, Pollock
put together a style that made people begin to notice. Finally, his signature style consumed him,
consisting of works characterized by a lack of symbols and shapes, painted with
drips and splatters all over huge canvases, and although these paintings were
not immediately sold, they withstood the test of time. Venezia does offer the reader the possibility
that anyone could throw paint around and paint a Pollock design. Bias comes through, however, when Venezia
closes the book with his opinion that Pollock’s work is very exciting, with the
feelings evoked by its “color, movement and energy.”
The strength of this
series, as mentioned above, lies in its unique combination of the serious and
the playful, the authentic and the created, and the detailed and the
simple. If the writer’s purpose is to
inspire children to read, Venezia will achieve this goal easily.
Summary: This book covers
Pollock’s interesting life growing up out west, moving from ranch to ranch with
his family, followed by a move to New York to take art classes and ending with
his unusual development as an artist.
Jackson Pollock-Biography,
Jackson Pollock-Art —Martha
Squaresky
