Alison Klein Blog It has certainly been a while since my last blog post. I would say the last couple years have been a whirlwind that will probably not stop anytime soon. I think I prefer to be busy and going in about hundred different directions.
As my kids are getting older, and I am faced with a unique dilemma of having more time on my hands. More time to create, more time to learn and hopefully be a good teacher... more time to just be. It's a weird feeling. This summer has continued to be one of incredible highs and crushing lows.
I recently had the opportunity to visit Springs, NY as part of a trip to see an exhibition and Fine Art Fair that I was showing my work at- this was wonderful surprise.
"Lucent Waters" Exhibition at Hamptons Art Fair, presented by Jessica Libor of Era Contemporary (Philadelphia, Pa)
Pictured: Self, Jessica Libor, and Kelly Hsaio.
Pictured: Self, Jessica Libor, and Kelly Hsaio.
This experience (however brief) was incredibly meaningful to me and gave me a tremendous insight on the networking and business side of the art world, which I have to say, I am probably not a versed as I should be.
Before we left, the next day, I got to visit Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner's house and art studio that was located very close to where we were staying. I do not really know what I was expecting. But we were lucky enough to have an almost two-hour guided tour of the place with some of the most interesting people and had many meaningful conversations about the lives of these two significant artists.
Before we left, the next day, I got to visit Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner's house and art studio that was located very close to where we were staying. I do not really know what I was expecting. But we were lucky enough to have an almost two-hour guided tour of the place with some of the most interesting people and had many meaningful conversations about the lives of these two significant artists.
         | Pollock- Krasner House and Grounds Pictured: House exterior, Grounds and artists' viewpoint, Books/Music, Pollock "Speaker", Pollock Painting and possessions, Lee's spider plants, Stairs leading up to the second floor, Lee's bedroom, House phone |
My husband and I spent a while walking around the periphery of the property. We wandered, taking in the sounds of nature, the viewpoint from the house and studio that these artists were immersed in every day. When our tour began, we all sat in a circle and our guide gave us a brief overview of where Jackson Pollock was born (Wyoming) and how he came to this area and what kind of life he was seeking. There were a lot of myths that were dispelled about his life as an artist, and his intense struggles with substance abuse and mental health.
Pollock was often conflicted, upset, and cast out by the art community he loved so much. He felt intense pressures to compete with artists of his time... Picasso, de Kooning, among others. His stalwart wife Lee, perhaps his toughest critic, made appointments to see him in his studio and did not disturb him while he was working.
For a long time, it seemed that they lived in separate areas, Lee in the upstairs studio of the house, and Pollock in his studio. I can only imagine this kind of dynamic and the mental exhaustion that must have emanated- I could still feel its presence walking through the house and studio. There were indeed moments in his life that were more quiet, introspective, and productive and you could see it in his work.
There were a couple things that were surprising. Pollock was often known to listen to jazz music while painting, but there was no electricity in his studio, and he created his famed splattered masterpieces without sound. He would spent hours reading and listening to music in between painting sessions to relax, but the absence of music while making was a surprise.
In my own work, I can't imagine not listening to music, as it naturally clears my head and takes me out of my thoughts and myself to a completely other place.
Pollock was often conflicted, upset, and cast out by the art community he loved so much. He felt intense pressures to compete with artists of his time... Picasso, de Kooning, among others. His stalwart wife Lee, perhaps his toughest critic, made appointments to see him in his studio and did not disturb him while he was working.
For a long time, it seemed that they lived in separate areas, Lee in the upstairs studio of the house, and Pollock in his studio. I can only imagine this kind of dynamic and the mental exhaustion that must have emanated- I could still feel its presence walking through the house and studio. There were indeed moments in his life that were more quiet, introspective, and productive and you could see it in his work.
There were a couple things that were surprising. Pollock was often known to listen to jazz music while painting, but there was no electricity in his studio, and he created his famed splattered masterpieces without sound. He would spent hours reading and listening to music in between painting sessions to relax, but the absence of music while making was a surprise.
In my own work, I can't imagine not listening to music, as it naturally clears my head and takes me out of my thoughts and myself to a completely other place.
        | Pollock- Krasner Studio Pictured: Studio wall, Studio, Pollock paint bucket remnants, Studio wall close-up, Paintbrushes, Lee's paint remnants, Pollock paint bucket remnants, Studio floor |
When we entered Pollock and later (post-Pollock death, Krasner's studio, I was overwhelmed at how preserved everything was, like it was just left there... many decades later, in exactly the same place and form. The caked paintbrushes, the buckets of the paint that still felt slight viscous, and the paint-splatted walls and floor, felt like there was a life and soul continuously breathing in the place.
We spent a great deal of time talking about how Lee Krasner took over the studio after Pollock's fateful car accident and death only minutes away from his house and studio. How Lee must have managed the fall-out, the eventual skyrocketing fame of Pollock, and how she had bravely managed his legacy despite not ever demanding the spotlight for herself as an artist.
This was a heavy day. I think as artists we feel an obligation to create out of mental wellness, wanting to feel the lightness and euphoria of losing yourself in the work, and shutting the outside world out. Elevating yourself out of the confines of your studio sometimes feel like ego, or wanting to be recognized, but at what cost? I struggle with this all the time. The desire to feel important and understood as an artist, but to also not take yourself too seriously.
As we have explored Pollock's work time and time again in the Enfield classroom. My youngest artists naturally create in his splattered style, and this always gives us a freeness and process-based break of not taking ourselves too seriously. I hope to share these experiences of visiting Pollock-Krasner's house this fall and perhaps mesh this experience into a collaborative artwork for Dot Day (more to come).
In closing, I hope to write more about these experiences, something I have greatly missed doing.
We spent a great deal of time talking about how Lee Krasner took over the studio after Pollock's fateful car accident and death only minutes away from his house and studio. How Lee must have managed the fall-out, the eventual skyrocketing fame of Pollock, and how she had bravely managed his legacy despite not ever demanding the spotlight for herself as an artist.
This was a heavy day. I think as artists we feel an obligation to create out of mental wellness, wanting to feel the lightness and euphoria of losing yourself in the work, and shutting the outside world out. Elevating yourself out of the confines of your studio sometimes feel like ego, or wanting to be recognized, but at what cost? I struggle with this all the time. The desire to feel important and understood as an artist, but to also not take yourself too seriously.
As we have explored Pollock's work time and time again in the Enfield classroom. My youngest artists naturally create in his splattered style, and this always gives us a freeness and process-based break of not taking ourselves too seriously. I hope to share these experiences of visiting Pollock-Krasner's house this fall and perhaps mesh this experience into a collaborative artwork for Dot Day (more to come).
In closing, I hope to write more about these experiences, something I have greatly missed doing.
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