Thomas's presentation for CC this week was about Jackson Pollock and he painted an abstract painting in the style of Pollock to give as a birthday present to his dad.

Jackson Pollock Jackson Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912. He was the youngest brother of five boys. Their family was poor and moved a lot. Finally they settled in Los Angelos because their mom wanted them to get a good education. Jackoson liked English and art but was not a good student. He was kicked out of school for fighting. The art teacher allowed him to come back just for art class. He moved to New York in 1930 when he became an adult. Jackson studied art under Thomas Benton, who was a famous artist. Benton used lines to show movement, which influenced Jackson, but Benton did not like abstract art. During the Great Depression, Jackson found work painting murals in government buildings. He was not paid much but he was used to being poor. The New York art community was a fun place for Jackson. He began experimenting with new ways to create art. He spent a lot of time in museums and his own artwork became more abstract after seeing a demonstration of Native American sand painting. In 1945 he married and moved to the country. Their house had no plumbing or heat. By 1949 he was able to sell some paintings and could finally to hire a plumber. He also turned a barn on their property into his art studio. This was where he started painting in a new style, dripping paint onto a canvas on the floor. He called this “Energy and motion made visible.” This new type of art changed the art world forever. In 1950 he painted his most famous work called Lavender Mist. A few years later, at the height of his career, he died in a car accident at the age of 44. Because of abstract artists like Jackson Pollock, New York became the center of the art world.