Reaction: The Met

I had never been to the abstract expressionist exhibit at the Met, but, personally, I found it a lot more interesting than some of the other more antiquated exhibits the museum hosts. The artists' connection to and influence on the subculture that grew around Washington Square Park was also something I never really thought about.

Besides the fact that the paintings were aesthetically beautiful, I really grew to appreciate what they stood for as a symbol of American underground culture. Pollock's switching from oil-based paint to liquid latex completely revolutionized expressionist painting and allowed him to paint in a style that no one had done before him. It created the drip effect that he is so well-known for. This led to the term “action” or “event” painting, where the canvas becomes less about brushstrokes and more about the recording of the artist's movements while he created the painting.

This kind of avant-garde art style connects directly to some of the subculture movements centered around Washington Square Park. Pollock’s refusal to conform to the standards of contemporary art at the time mirror the writers and artists in Greenwich Village who fought against the mainstream in an attempt to develop their own anti-society.

The trip to the Met allowed me to synthesize my interest in beat literature and underground literary movements with the art world, through the paintings of Jackson Pollock and other avant-garde artists.

-Jessica Roy