Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

"Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is known for his mature drip paintings that introduced a radically new conception of pictorial space and of the artist's physical involvement with his work. Born in Cody, Wyoming to a poor migrant family, he was raised in a number of different locations in the West, mainly in Arizona and California. Camp with Oil Rig of 1930-33, an early work, was done while Pollock was studying at the Art Students League in New York under Thomas Hart Benton, America's best known regionalist painter. Benton had Pollock in his classes from 1931-1932 and the two remained friends until Pollock's tragic death. He said that the young man's achievement in these early works was to 'have injected a mystic strain into the more generally prosaic characteristics of regionalism.'

Camp with Oil Rigs breaks with a matter-of-fact representation through its air of mystery. The scene is murky, stark and desolate. The somber, greenish cast contributes to a mood of desperation and alienation...The West had lost its aura as a land of riches and opportunity. Pollock's rebelliousness and psychological confusion can be traced to a lack of feeling of centeredness. He no longer knew his place: the emptiness of the land did nothing to provide deep spiritual meaning."

(Transforming the Western Image in 20th Century Art, exh. cat., Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1992, p. 49)