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Jackson Pollock Part Two: Fame, Death, and the CIA

2025-06-20 Film & Animation
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Great Art Explained
Great Art Explained
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An exclusive Preorder 20% off at https://wwnorton.com/books/9780500025956 in the US and type in GREATART20 In the UK at https://www.waterstones.com/book/great-art-explained/james-payne/9780500025956 and type in GreatArt5 My other channel, Great Books Explained here - https://www.youtube.com/@greatbooksexplained371 Please consider supporting this channel on Patreon (and getting exclusive content), thanks! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=53686503 or if you prefer a one-off donation - https://paypal.me/GreatArtExplained?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB Alternatively, every video has a "thanks" button under it- I appreciate it! In 1949, Life magazine asked: “Is Jackson Pollock, the greatest American Painter. He is a figure that is polarising among art aficionados. Some see him as a fraud, others as a genius. In Part Two of my film I look at how fame affected Jackson Pollock, and how alcohol destroyed his relationships. I look at the science behind why we are so affected by his work, and I also look at a lesser known story, of how art became an unlikely player in the Cold War and the global contest of ideas. How Abstract Expressionism was enlisted as an unknowing agent in a shadowy propaganda war, bankrolled by the CIA, to sell the story of freedom… and capitalism. IMPORTANT! Subscribe and click the bell icon to be notified! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePD... I would like to thank all my Patreon supporters, in particular Alan Stewart, Alexander Velser, Alyssa Phillips, AMSN, Anja Zeutschel, Bria Nicole Art, David Asabreu, Christa Sawyer, Eric Mann, Erique K, Francis Song, Griffin Evans, Hugo Moita, Jemma Theivendran, John Baer, Jon Hanzen, Julio Cardenas, Karim Hopper, Kibibi Shaw, Louise Tait, Monte St Johns, New Curiosity, Paul Ark, Paul Waterman, Sagar Saxena, Sean Welgemoed, Stefan Paisson, Stephen Beresford, Tanya Moore, Theresa Garfink, Toni Ko, Tyler Wittreich, and Will Dew's-Power. "What a brilliant series this is" - Stephen Fry on Twitter (X) CREDITS Script co-written by Laura Beardsell-Moore Opening Animation and Title Sequence by Brian Adsit (instagram https://instagram.com/brian_vfx?utm_m... and Behance www.behance.com/badsit88) Recording by Robert Lewis VIDEOS All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel do not claim any right over them. MUSIC BOOKS Pollock by Leonhard Emmerling Jackson Pollock by Deborah Solomon Jackson Pollock by Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Top Comments (10)

@ah_naw 2025-06-21

I really appreciate how you always manage to highlight the women who were integral to these successful male artists’ careers 🙏 thanks for another great essay!

291 8 replies
@DammitBobby 2025-06-20

I had no idea about the CIA's involvement in the abstract expressionism movement. Incredibly ironic. Rothko for example was an explicit anti-capitalist.

199 12 replies
@jaywysard 2025-06-21

What I like so much about these videos is how they give you the total, clearer picture of the artist being featured. Jackson Pollock was talented, but he wasn't just self-made. He wasn't the first to drip paint, but he took it to the stratosphere. He was both very thoughtful and extremely thoughtless. And in the end his work just shimmers. It really is like nature, like being in a forest with the dappled light and being able to see it grow and move. It's almost hallucinogenic. As an aside, I've visited the MOMA only once, but I'll never forget my first impression of being there. Just inside the front entrance, two pictures greeted you, side by side: Pollock's "#1" and Monet's "Water Lilies." Amazing. Immediately you were shown two guys trying to get to the same thing, achieving the nearly same result, but using entirely different methods. And I thought, "Welp...say what you will about MOMA, but damn...these people here definitely know what they're doing."

86 1 replies
@superpear64 2025-06-20

Wake up, Great Art Explained just uploaded the second part to his Jackson Pollock video

85 5 replies
@Grizzli49 2025-06-21

I had no idea about Janet Sobel, sounds like I have more research to do ☺️

49 1 replies
@MiamiTimeMachineOperator 2025-06-20

According to "Jackson Pollock: An American Saga," it was at the end of filming the drips onto the glass, that he walked into the house, poured himself a drink, and ended the sober period from which all these works come from.

49 1 replies
@GreatArtExplained 2025-06-19

Please remember to like and leave a comment - it really helps promote the channel - thanks! You can preorder my book now. An exclusive Preorder 20% off at https://wwnorton.com/books/9780500025956 in the US and type in GREATART20 - In the UK at https://www.waterstones.com/book/great-art-explained/james-payne/9780500025956 and type in GreatArt5

45 12 replies
@MariaVosa 2025-06-21

And yet again, just 15 minutes gives me a whole new level of understanding and context. Just marvellous.

26 1 replies
@6thdayblue59 2025-06-20

The narrators voice is, in itself art. Thank you

13
@Cnsalmoni 2026-01-23

ADHD here…tried several other art channels, none of which include and draw the audience into the documentary the way yours do. I’m never bored.

7

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