Pollock is a 2000 biopic that was directed by and stars Ed Harris as the emotionally troubled modern abstract
artist Jackson Pollock. Also featured are Marcia Gay Harden as his wife, Lee Krasner, and Harris' real life wife
Amy Madigan as Peggy Guggenheim. Ed Harris won an Academy Award for his performance.
Norbert is featured in the role of Hans Namuth, the man who photographed Pollock as he worked on his
unique style of paintings, whereby he dripped paint over the canvas. Hans Namuth specialized in portraiture,
photographing many artists, including Jackson Pollock. His photos and films of Pollock at work increased
Pollock's fame and recognition and led to a greater understanding of his techniques. Hans Namuth was not
initially interested in the work of Pollock, but his teacher, Alexey Brodovitch, convinced him that Pollock was
an important painter.
In July 1950, Namuth approached Pollock and asked to photograph him working in his studio. With the
encouragement from his wife he agreed. The resulting images helped to clear the mystery of Pollock's
famous "drip" technique of painting, revealing it to be a deliberative process rather than a random splashing of paint. Not
satisfied with black and white stills, Namuth wanted to create a color film that managed to focus on Pollock and his painting at the same
time, partially because it is reported that he found more interest in Pollock's image than in his art. His solution was to have Pollock paint on
a large sheet of glass as Namuth filmed from underneath the work. Since Namuth could not afford professional lighting, the film was shot
outside Pollock's Long Island home. This documentary is considered one of the most influential for artists.
Pollock
During his time with Pollock, Hans Namuth had
created two films and captured more than 500
photographs of the artist. These photos were
first published in 1951 in Portfolio, a journal
edited by Alexey Brodovitch and Franz Zachary. After the death of Pollock in 1956, Namuth's photos grew in popularity and
were often used in articles about the painter in place of Pollock's artwork itself. In November 1950, Namuth and Pollock's relationship came
to an abrupt conclusion. After coming in from the cold-weather shoot of the glass painting, Pollock, who had been treated in the 1930s for
alcoholism, poured himself several drinks after supposedly having been sober for two years. An argument between Namuth and Pollock
ensued with each calling the other a phony and culminating in Pollock overturning a table of food and dinnerware in front of several guests.
You can do additional reading on Jackson Pollock and see
examples of his art on this web museum dedicated to him, and
this other site dedicated to Pollock here.
Pollock was known as an eccentric yet reclusive individual who
did not seek the fame that came to him.
Namuth was born in Essen, Germany in 1917, and died in 1990 in a
Long Island automobile accident not far from where Pollock had
similarly died in a car crash.
You can read more about Hans Namuth on these sites:
Hans Namuth Portrait site.
Hans Namuth Web Museum.
Jackson Pollock painting.
Collection of Hans Namuth photos of Jackson at work.
Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock and Amy
Madigan as Peggy Guggenheim at one of
Jackson’s art exhibits. Amy Madigan is the
real life wife of Ed Harris and has produced
and starred in many of his films.
Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock and Marcia Gay Harden as his wife, Lee Krasner.
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