My Favorite Master, I'm practicing to be like him by Rozita Fogelman
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is my favorite master of American painting. His attitude toward painting has given an ultimate approach of freedom to contemporary paintings. If the artist’s role is to be free from any influence, to experiment and not just settle for the known, Pollock’s attempts pushed those boundaries like no one has previously. He was the evolutionary mast of the Abstract Expressionism. Without letting the outside manipulate his work; Pollock's paintings were created out of his need to paint his feelings; "I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them... there is no accident, I can control the flow of paint." Pollock (1951)
Breaking out from the conventional methods of representation or use of painting tools; and unaffected sublime subject matter, Pollock boundlessly rebelled against the intellectual purpose of painting for the sake of pure pleasure and joy. He was like a dancer, laid his canvas on a floor and circularized it around; “I hardly ever stretch my canvas before painting. I prefer to tack the unscratched canvas to the hard floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor, I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting…” Pollock (1947)
Consciously, he went into unconsciousness state, like in a trance to document his present energy that was a reflection of his present feelings and state of energetic mind. In his statement from 1947, Pollock said: “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of “get acquainted” period that I see what I have been about."
Like a Zen master, Pollock merged himself with the flow of energy that in nature sometime appears as random, and times seems chaotic, but in Pollock's work the hidden energy unveiled the structure of that rhythm of the living pulse.
Pollock reversed the analytical order of creating art whereas before the artist had to analyze it first and then paint. Pollock’s large paintings opened windows to those energetic fields of harmony and rhythm. It is like looking through a magnifying glass to momentarily be transformed into magnificent energy fields. Where little particles of energy come into eye view, and in dynamic richness they gravitate towards the larger massive particles in space. The particles in different masses create variations of energy fields resulting in some bold strokes and thin lines with no beginning and without an end. “I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise, there is pure harmony, an easy give and take…” Pollock (1947)
Body, Land & Water by Rozita Fogelman Human communication began with arts and language creating collective data of different social groups that enabled documentation of arts and languages representing collective ideas, knowledge, thoughts and feelings to perceive cultural awareness. The connection, however, between body, land, and water seemed so obvious in the old days is no longer so evident in the present days. I wondered, why?
In Hebrew, ומים אדמה ,דם ,אדם ; adam, dam, adama and maiem; translated as human, blood, land and water ̶ all share the same root. My series, Body, Land & Water is my attempt to create a space addressing the need to reconnect the link between art, language, people, land and water. I want to create a connection between the past’s collective ideas and archetypal symbols and our current culture, a grounding place where one can reconnect with the original concept and structure of balance.
Throughout my work, I attempt to unite with the greater female power of my ancestors who knew how to identify the essence of living together. I believe my ancestors and past generations of women knew how to live in more balanced ways. In my work, I try to use my intuition, to feel and see, and to gain insight into ways I can use my art towards healing inspiration. I intend to create a space where slowing the senses is required in order to be present. It is a passage, and viewers entering this passage must let go of outside distractions.
I am inspired by the courage and the art of Ana Mendieta and Joseph Beuys. I believe it is necessary for me to take on this role of the ‘absurd enchanter figure’ as Beuys described: “So when I appear as a kind of shamanic figure or allude to it, I do it to stress my belief in other priorities and the need to come up with a completely different plan for working with substances. For instance, in places like universities, where everyone speaks too rationally, it is necessary for a kind of enchanter figure to appear.”
For Ana Mendieta it was a dialogue with land, using her physical body, as she described: ”I have been carrying on a dialogue between the landscape and the female body based on my own silhouettes. I believe this to be a direct result of my having been torn away from my homeland during my adolescence. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of having been cast out from the womb. My art is a way I establish the bonds that tie me to the universe.”
My experimental approach was to discover how the process and the media could change and turn some of my abstract ideas into an actual representational body of work. When I was in the work process, I did not worry about the subject matter, I went into a state of trance, and the artwork is the outcome of my meditative work. I was more concerned with being present, learning about the process, and observing how working with the media can give me unexpected effects. Working with traditional media: paint on canvas, often helps me open up and reconnect to my grounded core of inner self and ancient intuitions. Body, Land & Water series allowed me to find a spiritual connection which spans generations. Contemporary Art: Ana Mendieta, Joseph Beuys Published: May 15, 2011