Assignment 2 (corresponds to the first Honors Learning Objective on your syllabus):

Write a double-spaced 3-4 pg essay about Jackson Pollock (see below) or another artist of your choice who has shown controversy in his oeuvre (let get my permission for the artist you wish to pick if not Pollock, as you will need enough written material/research on your artist to qualify for this type of essay).

In the research part of your essay, you need to use primary and secondary + possibly tertiary sources, and list them accordingly (separately) in your work cited (of course you also need to cite IN TEXT to match).

No essay is 100% research-based. As you research “academically acceptable” sources (meaning not from Wikipedia and other sites where anyone can post anything- not that it does not have value but it is it accurate???), remember that this is your essay, therefore the majority of your essay should be about what YOUR OWN conclusions are, based on what you have found in your research (essential to any good essay) – not the other way around. This is not about what “most people think…”

Jackson Pollock – Documentary – Ovation (3 min) and Ovation TV | Jackson Pollock (4 min) and you can watch some others.

In your research, reflect on:

1. The different influences (artistic and non-artistic) that lead Pollock to this new form of expression.
2. How does Pollock affect the direction of Art in general
3. Why is Pollock considered (at least by some) to be a genius- check art historian Clement Greenberg’s writings about Pollock and how Greenberg is fundamental to Pollock being considered a genius.
4. What is your own position about everything above: is Pollock a genius, or just an innovative artist? Do you agree with Greenberg or rather other critics? Why?
5. Conclude your findings