In 1938, a Ukrainian-born grandmother created one of art's biggest shocks – but it was attributed to the US painter Jackson Pollock.
Janet Sobel written out of history.
Milky Way, 1945 Janet Sobel
See
Look at the work of Janet Sobel. Compare it to the work done by Jackson Pollack a year later after having admitted to being ‘influenced’ by Sobel.
Janet Sobel, Untitled 1946
Jackson Pollack, Full Fathom Five, 1947
Full Fathom Five is one of Pollock’s earliest “drip” paintings. While its lacelike top layers consist of poured skeins of house paint, Pollock built up the underlayer using a brush and palette knife. (Moma) In 1947 Pollock first used the process of pouring or dripping paint onto a flat canvas in stages, often alternating weeks of painting with weeks of contemplating before he finished a canvas. (Brittanica)
Say
What did you notice while looking at the drip paintings by the two artists?
Why do you think Janet Sobel is not credited as the ‘mother’ of drip painting or abstract expressionism?
Is it too late to rewrite history or do you think his ‘avant garde/hyper-masculine artist’ persona sells better than the ‘grandma/housewife’ persona of Janet Sobel?
Do
Try some of Sobel’s techniques using a pipette and vacuum cleaner to spread the drips around the page. Let go!
Watch how American graphic designer, Stefan G. Bucher transforms a drip of ink using a bottle of ink, a straw and a marker to create his Daily Monster. Try it!
About Janet Sobel
Sobel with Eleanor Roosevelt (Credit: Gary Snyder Fine Art NY)
Ukranian American 1894-1968
A pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, outsider artist Janet Sobel began experimenting with drip painting long before the style was made famous by Jackson Pollock. Sobel was self-taught and made her paintings on scraps of paper and cardboard boxes, often blowing paint around the canvas or using glass pipettes in lieu of brushes. Her work soon caught the attention of critic Clement Greenberg, dealer Sidney Janis, and collector Peggy Guggenheim, who included her work in a 1945 show at her gallery Art of This Century. Most notably, Sobel made a strong impression on Pollock, who has cited her influence. Her best-known work, Milky Way (1945) —now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art —was created a year before Pollock made his first drip painting. Though Sobel’s renown faded, her impact on Pollock and the Abstract Expressionist movement secured her place in art history. (bbc)
A self–taught artist, Sobel invented her own painting process. According to her son, "she would prepare a ground, which would invariably suggest or trigger some 'idea' for her, whose sudden conception was matched by an equally rapid execution. In her efforts to pin down her conception she would pour the paint, tip the canvas, and blow the wet lacquer." She made Milky Way quickly and spontaneously, achieving a jewel–like, allover surface by using fast-drying enamel paint. Her automatic technique has been likened to those of highly theoretical avant-garde groups like the Surrealists. She responded, "I only paint what I feel." (Moma gallery label)
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