Review: Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting that Changed Australia – Tom McIlroy (Hachette) This episode is described early in Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting that Changed a Nation , a new book by journalist and first-time author Tom McIlroy. The colourful volume retraces the life and work of the groundbreaking, deeply flawed artist and his distinctive“all-over” style of painting. It also retells the story of the Australian government's decision in 1973 to purchase one of the most iconic of Pollock's works, Blue Poles (1952), in an effort to drag a nation“from adolescence to some kind of cultural maturity”.
These are disparate stories that, when placed in the same frame, show us how much art and culture matter, and how scandalous they can be. Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912, the youngest of five brothers, all of whom were creatively inclined. His childhood was characterised by movement and disruption, both reflected in his later artistic style.
Pollock was plagued by“inner demons”, as McIlroy puts it, resulting in intense moods, alcoholism, marital disharmony and infidelity. These things mattered, not just in his creative process, but in his relationships. They led to his death, and that of an acquaintance, in an alcohol-fuelled car accident in 1956.
Like many creative“genius” types, Pollock owed much to the women around him. Art entrepreneurs Peggy Guggenheim and Betty Parsons gave him exhibition space.