Film
Festival - Pollock
Wednesday
- April 5, 2006
MAC Playhouse - 3:30 pm
- 6:15 PM
College Now Course - Humanities
Hosted by: Dr. Robert Singer, Professor of English
College Now English Course Coordinator
Dr. Eleanor Cory, College Now Humanities Course Coordinator
About
the Movie: Pollock
Director, Ed Harris - Rating R
Who was Jackson Pollock? Was he a tormented genius, raging alcoholic,
abusive male, and possibly one of the most important artists in the twentieth
century? Why do his paintings still cause so much controversy; is it art,
nonsense, or something else? In the film Pollock (2000), directed by
and starring Ed Harris, you will experience all of the above and still may
wonder who this man was.
About
the Presenter: Dr. Eleanor Cory
Dr. Eleanor Cory
is a composer whose music is often inspired by art, literature, dance and
film. A member of the Kingsborough Department of Communications and Performing
Arts, she teaches traditional music theory and appreciation courses as well
as a contemporary music/humanities course and interdisciplinary courses with
the English Department. She sees film as a dramatic unfolding of events in
time analogous to the interactions of instruments in musical compositions,
shapes and colors in art, and words in books and poems.
Extra Credit Assignments
ACT - Prep
In
the film, Pollock, the viewer saw a brilliant artist suffering from
the deleterious effects of alcoholism and mental illness, as well as the effects
that this resulting behavior had on other people. Jackson Pollock could be
a charming, gifted, but difficult person, and he appears to have been especially
abusive to women. Like other talented but troubled people, creative but moody,
Pollock's "chaotic, abstract" art, according to some, seems to be
generated by his internal conflicts. Some people believe Pollock painted his
moodiness and anger. These people do not attempt to excuse his behavior, such
as his abusive alcoholic rage, but they try to find a cause for it to understand
the art and artist. Accordingly, there are other people who believe that there
is no excuse for such outrageous forms of personal cruelty and that Pollock's
art and its popular reception are colored by an awareness of his extremely
contemptible behavior. They prefer not to patronize museums and exhibits featuring
Pollock's art, or to buy reproductions of his paintings because they know
what he was like in real life. Great art, according to them, cannot be created
by extremely contemptible people, or at least be patronized.
You have been asked to write a letter to the school newspaper in which you
will express your view concerning the issue of a proposed exhibit of Pollock's
art in the school library. Do you think it is appropriate to exhibit the abstract
art of a raging alcoholic, cruelly abusive to other artists and women in particular,
or does this matter at all? After all, you are not exhibiting Pollock, only
what he created. How does the character of the individual artist (or poet,
filmmaker, etc.,) affect your judgment? For example, would you show paintings
by well known racists or outspoken sexists? Also, is this style of abstract
art "correct" for a high school audience? Does Pollock's esoteric
art belong in a high school exhibit? In your letter, discuss your view of
these questions about Pollock's art and character, the importance of art to
the high school audience, and develop a point of view. Freely quote from others
and from the film Pollock.
Mini-Research Project
(NOTE: This
is NOT a research paper - it is a research-oriented experience in which
students gather information. They can prepare outlines, note-cards, a bibliography,
cite references, or practice any combination of these skills associated with
preparing a research paper).
Utilizing the library and its resources, and/or material from the Internet,
prepare an investigative project that focuses on any one of these topics associated
with the film, Pollock:
a) "abstract expressionism"
b) creativity and mental illness
c) artists Lee Krasner and Willem DeKooning
d) the art world today
Standard College Essay
Many
issues arise from the analysis and discussion of the film, Pollock.
Some of the more important issues involve representing the relationship between
mental illness and creativity, the positive and negative effects of celebrity,
how the era in which one lives affects his/her work, and how people can successfully
or unsuccessfully work together. There are other related personal and social
issues arising from the analysis of this film, and these are only some suggested
and significant themes to consider.
In
a full-length essay (approximately 400-500 words), later to be revised for
content and correctness, discuss any of the issues raised in the film Pollock
that you consider to be of special interest either for yourself or for
society. Feel free to refer to the film or any source of information in your
essay. Explain why and how these issues are significant not only in the film
but also in relationship to your own life or the lives of other people.
Event Photos
Pollock - April 5, 2006
 |
|
College
Now Course Coordinator, Dr. Eleanor Cory (left) with Film Festival host
Dr. Robert Singer and art expert Professor Caterina Pierre.
|
 |
 |
|
Dr.
Singer welcomes students to the screening of Pollock and provides some
background information about the making of the movie.
|
Professor
Pierre uses a PowerPoint presentation to describe Jackson Pollock's
life.
|
 |
|
|
Dr.
Singer and Professor Pierre take questions from the audience after the
film.
|
|