One of the books in my to-read pile that is more of a tower now is one called Tom and Jack from writer Henry Adams. It details the long relationship between Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock, two painters seemingly worlds apart– Pollock known for his vibrant abstracted drip paintings and Benton for his distinct but more objective view of the American landscape.
But Benton was a mentor, teacher and surrogate father for Pollock and many of his lessons found form in Pollock’s work, particularly the ability to create a rhythm in each painting. Both were masters of the graceful organic rhythms that run through their works.
One of the things I often do when looking at the work of other artists is to do a Google image search for that artist. Seeing the work grouped together, as you can see in the images at the top and bottom of the page, allows me to quickly take in the overall tone and feel, to get an idea of the general fingerprint of that artist. At the top is a screenshot of Benton’s landscapes and the thing that immediately jumps out at me is the beautiful organic roll of the landscape that creates a rhythm that instantly draws me in.
One of the paintings from the Benton page is shown here on the left, The Trail Riders, and is a great example of this rhythm. It creates a sense of movement and gives the forms of the landscape an almost human quality in its curves and rolls which makes it seem familiar. Part of us, who we are. For me, that rhythm in Benton’s work was a revelation. The landscape became something more that a static backdrop. It was alive and breathing and moving, very often the central character in the work.
And I knew that was what I wanted in my own work, just as I believe Pollock observed it and wanted for his own work. And he found a way to take that rhythm and create his own living landscape through his distinct visual vocabulary. Much different than Benton but built on the same underlying energies.
Seeing both their works is really motivating for me, making me chomp at the bit this morning. Each spurs me in many directions, but always fast and forward moving.
And that is always a good thing…
Redtree Times 
One of my favorite Benton “discoveries” is on the bottom row, second from left. Look at that grain flowing onto the pile!
I do enjoy Benton’s work. I’ve tried and tried with Pollock. And tried some more. But seeing it juxtaposed with Benton’s work here, and being reminded of the relationship between the two, at least makes it interesting in a new way. Maybe if I read the book, and looked a little longer, I could find the rhythm in Pollock’s paintings. 🙂
That is a great image. In many of his pieces the elements in the landscape often reflect the forms of the clouds in the sky. In that painting, the grain arcs in unison with the cloud above. Just a beautiful harmony in the two elements. I understand the difficulty in finding the same rhythm in Pollock’s work. Sometimes the chaos of the paint splats and sputters can distract even as they create a rhythm. But at least you have tried!
On Tue, Apr 7, 2015 at 7:13 AM, Redtree Times wrote:
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