Jackson Pollock 51 (1951)

Run Time: 0h11m | Release: 19 Jul 1951

Production Countries: United States of America

7 / 101 Vote Count

Overview:

The photography of German photographer Hans Namuth is largely credited for Pollock’s rise to fame, and as the painter gained a higher profile, along with Abstract Expressionism in general, Namuth returned to capture Pollock’s “action painting” on video for the short documentary below. In a cinematically brilliant move, Namuth asked Pollock to create a painting on glass, so that he could film underneath, giving the viewer the experience of actually being the canvas. Lacking a lighting crew, they shot in the cold Long Island expanse of grassland outside of Pollock’s home.