Pollock Confidential: A Graphic Novel

by Onofrio Catacchio

New York, 1948: The art world is ablaze with the pioneering brilliance of Jackson Pollock's 'action painting'. Despite this seismic creative output, Pollock's demons are never far away...

Forceful, intense and visionary - in an incredibly short and turbulent life Jackson Pollock changed painting forever. This vivid graphic novel delves into his pioneering physical approach to making art, highlights the key characters surrounding the New York mid-century art scene and reveals the intriguing relationship between Pollock's painting and the covert activities of the Cold War.

• ISBN13: 9781786276223
• Publish Date: 6 April 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Laurence King Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 112
• Language: English
• URL: https://abramsandchronicle.co.uk/book/9781786276223-pollock-confidential/

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Pollock Confidential is a graphic novel biography of a period of Jackson Pollock's life. Originally published in 2018, this English translation released 7th April 2020 by Laurence King is 112 pages and available in hardcover format.

This biography takes a look via flashbacks and interludes at Pollock's influence and interactions with the CIA during operation "long leash" as part of the American cultural cold war with the Soviet Union. It was a relationship of which I was previously unaware although the broad strokes of his life, battles with substance abuse, and insecurities I had already known about. A fair bit of the biography narrative is fictionalised, but the framework is there.

The art is quite good, the recognizable major players are displayed against monotone backgrounds of some of Pollock's work as well as having some of the story panels inset into color versions of his work. The art is quite good and the text translation is seamless.

Four stars. A quick, interesting, and worthwhile read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.