ABSTRACT
It is a monograph which claims for Jackson Pollock the heroism of history to a degree which is absolute and unequivocal, and which then goes on to claim for this historical heroism an artistic sovereignty equally unqualified and immeasurable. The anarchic and the decorative: these are the primary impulses which make themselves felt in Pollock's work, and whatever pictorial tensions they may claim derive from their confrontation, juxtaposition, or displacement in one degree or another. In "Shimmering Substance" Pollock's art was poised precariously between the vehemence of his anarchic energy and his penchant for the decorative. By and large, the last gallery in the Pollock exhibition was a dismaying experience, revealing an artist driven by aspirations which cruelly outdistanced his talents. By and large, the last gallery in the Pollock exhibition was a dismaying experience, revealing an artist driven by aspirations which cruelly outdistanced his talents.
