ACTION/ABSTRACTION

This past weekend was the last chance to catch Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940–1976 at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Of course I was one of the many procrastinators to view the show in its last few hours, despite it hanging for months previous. Very cool to see. I know a lot of people have issues and whatnot with Pollock...just drips blah blah...but until you see one in person...I don't think you can bitch about him. I'm not saying they are more than just drips, but the shear scale of his pieces are impressive...you can actually "walk into them..." well some, not all. I had seen a couple Pollock's at MOMA years back...much bigger than what was hanging here in STL, but the show here was still definitely worth the six bucks to get in.

"The exhibition starts with the titanic figures of Pollock and de Kooning and unfolds with an exploration of painting and sculpture by their peers, as well as younger generations of artists who responded to their example and to the critical frameworks created by Greenberg and Rosenberg. The exhibition is presented thematically rather than chronologically and is complemented by a rich selection of contextual materials."