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ART Assignment
Art Appreciation (Liberty
University)
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Usama Pervez
ARTS105
19 February, 2023
ANALYSIS
PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Reflection of the Big Dipper by Paul Jackson Pollock
Abstract expressionist pioneer Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11,
1956) was born in Cody, Wyoming, United States. Because he could view and paint his canvases
from all sides, he became famous for his "drip technique," in which he poured or slapped liquid
household paint onto a horizontal surface. (Jackson Pollock's "Reflection of the Big Dipper,
1947")
Reflection of the Big Dipper,
1947 Paint on canvas
Painting Dimensions: 111 x 91.5 cm.
Since it is so challenging to comprehend, this painting might become a person's actual
world. The incoherent jumble of lines, splatters, and colors renders it unpack able by the human
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mind. Nature's magnificent diversity and unpredictability have much in common with this
disorder. This work is appealing because it resembles a wide variety of natural phenomena,
ranging from large-scale structures like galaxy clusters and nebula to smaller-scale phenomena
like bacteria and atomic collision graphs. If you look attentively, you notice that Jackson
Pollock's splatters contain smaller splatters and that his lines are accompanied by smaller lines,
proving that "Reflection of the Big Dipper" is a fractal. The creator probably didn't intend for
this to happen. Instead, they probably did this by repeatedly, with varying intensities, doing
natural physical movements (to generate forms that look natural) (to reproduce those same forms
at different scales). (bio)
In "Reflection of the Big Dipper," Pollock's energy and intensity keep getting stronger
and stronger, whether you're aware of it or not. Thick, tranquil brushstrokes of burgundy, green,
and silver are followed by thinner, more vibrant brushstrokes of blue, orange, yellow, and other
colors, presumably more recent. The brush begins to jump and bounce as Pollock's signature
style emerges. A white "comet" with a very long, extremely straight tail and a thick, three-
dimensional head appear, and the tempo of the images quickens, making it more piercing and
emotional. Their straight lines are broken up by purple and yellow splatters and spritz that
Pollock put on without any sense of a "stroke." Last, a bold, defiant black that isn't thick sits on
top. It was painted with strokes that looked like a mix of lines and splatters. Before he found
more "meaningful" forms in his later work, his early drip-style paintings, including "Reflection
of the Big Dipper," veered more towards chaos. This picture may appear chaotic at first glance,
but upon closer inspection, it adheres to a few basic "laws of physics." A riot of color surrounded
the bed, and a black and white chair sat in front of it. I felt its influence most strongly, and it had
the clearest form. It's vital to leave some breathing room around the black line splatters and white
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comets at the edges of the canvas so that their "collisions" in the middle of the canvas can be
better appreciated. The swiftness of the black lines is reflected in the way they sweep to the
picture's borders. As a result, your eye is drawn to follow their strong paths. (“Reflection of the
Big Dipper”)
Jackson Pollock produced this remarkable work of art using his "action painting" method.
While many consider this style merely "a muddled jumble," I have a very different perspective,
which I genuinely hope others will share. "Reflection of the Big Dipper" takes me on a visual
voyage through time and space; it's more than simply a painting to me.
For both the viewers and, most likely, Pollock himself, the sheer number of motives,
thoughts, and emotions that went into crafting something like this is mind-boggling. As for the
final verdict, I'm siding with the "organic-ness" of the artwork. Nonetheless, Pollock's anarchy is
stunning, robust, and inescapable.
References:
•Bio, my. “Reflection of the Big Dipper Jackson Pollock Painting.” Reflection of the Big
Dipper Jackson Pollock Painting, www.thehistoryofart.org/jackson-pollock/reflection-
of- the-big-dipper/#:~:text=The%20spots%20of%20dark%20colour,the%20artist’s
%20own
%20inner%20journey.
•“Reflection of the Big Dipper, 1947 by Jackson Pollock.” Reflection of the Big
Dipper, 1947 by Jackson Pollock, www.jackson-pollock.org/reflection-of-the-big-
dipper.jsp.
•“Reflection of the Big Dipper.” prezi.com, prezi.com/p/rvdqawgh0hxk/reflection-of-
the- big-dipper.
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