Download free museum-scene templates:
#1,
#2,
#3,
(pdf ~30KB each)
Marble Action Paintings - a Jackson Pollock inspired lesson plan
Brief Description:
This lesson plan takes inspiration from Jackson Pollock - the artist Time
magazine once called "Jack the Dripper". Students will be able to define the terms
"abstract expressionism" and "action paintings" and differentiate these from other
styles and approaches.
Keywords:
Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism, action paintings.
Materials Needed:
white printer paper,
tempera paints in several bold colors,
marbles, salad bowls, and teaspoons,
cookie sheets, cafeteria trays, or box lids,
ArtHouse is highly recommended for display and class discussion!
Lesson Plan - Motivation:
Famous art critic Harold Rosenberg described "action painters" like Jackson Pollock
as modern heroes who transform their canvases into arenas wherein epic struggles
between man and material are fought. With grand gestures, action painters create art
of confrontation and catharsis.
In this lesson, we teach a fun and easy way to make authentic and original abstract
expressionist paintings on a small scale. The technique is appropriate for students
age six and up. It's even fun for adults to make "marble action paintings"!
One thing that makes art fun is that there are no "wrong answers". This is especially
true for abstract expressionism.
Jackson Pollock explained his motivation (in a William Wright radio interview) as
follows: "...today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves.
Most modern painters work from a different source. They work from within. The modern
artist, it seems to me, is working and expressing an inner world."
Lesson Plan - Background and Historical Information:
Jackson Pollock was an American abstract expressionist painter who was famous for
innovative "action paintings". Instead of careful brush strokes, Jackson Pollock
dripped, poured, and splattered paint. As Pollock experimented and developed his
distinctive techniques, his paintings became ever larger and more dramatic. He would
unroll large canvases onto the floor of his studio and work on them from all sides.
Occasionally he would have to step carefully onto the canvas, or lean out over it.
(Sometimes he even left handprints in the paint!)
Jackson Pollock explained an important aspect of his technique:
"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort
of get-acquainted period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about
making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.
I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that
the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the
painting comes out well."
How did Jackson Pollock develop his unique and original style? Pollock had studied classical
drawing and composition, and also American "regionalist" painting styles, but as he studied
he found himself drawn to produce larger murals. In need of a steady paying job through
the latter part of the Great Depression and the World War II years, he painted murals
for the Works Progress Administration's "Federal Art Project". After eight years of
painting murals, he quit to work full time in his own studio. Although he had experimented
with dripping paint onto flat canvases as early as 1936, it wasn't until 1947 that this
technique took precedence. Pollock described this technique as "direct" painting.
He liked to compare it to American Indian "sand paintings", where colored or pigmented
sand is methodically arranged on the floor in temporary ritual exhibitions.
Meeting, falling in love with, and marrying exceptional fellow artist Lee Krasner gave
Jackson Pollock more stability and happiness. Her support led to his great success,
including being discovered and championed by Peggy Guggenheim and her famous gallery
"Art of This Century". Jackson Pollock became one of the most famous living painters
in America when he was featured in Life magazine on August 8, 1949.
In 1951 Jackson Pollock's style shifted in emphasis. He stopped making totally
non-representational images, and reintroduced figurative references to human and animal
forms. He explained: "When you're working out of your unconscious, figures are bound to
emerge." He continued trying new things, like temporarily giving up colors to create a
series of striking black paintings on unprimed canvas. When he returned to painting in
color, his gestures were richer and imagery was once again veiled elusively behind layers
upon layers of paint. Ironically, even as Jackson Pollock's career became more successful
in terms of fame and money, he became more self-destructive. He had essentially stopped
painting by 1956, when at the age of 44 he went on a drunken-drive, crashed his car, and died.
Download free museum-scene templates:
#1,
#2,
#3,
(pdf ~30KB each)
Lesson Plan - Activity:
Put paint in bowls, one color per bowl. Put marbles in the paint bowls and roll them
around to cover them with paint. Put a little bit of water in a spare bowl and reserve
it for "used" marbles. (As long as you keep paint from drying on the marbles,
clean-up is easy.)
Put a sheet of blank paper into the tray. Then, use spoons to lift marbles out of the
bowls and gently drop them onto the paper. This is usually done one color and two-or-three
marbles at a time. It's okay if a few droplets of paint fall from the spoon too.
Make the marbles roll around by tilting the tray. If you're careful, you can largely
influence the tracks the marbles leave. With multiple marbles you'll tend to get parallel
tracks. Notice how marbles tend to snag and/or change direction when they cross paint
trails. As Jackson Pollock would say, "these paintings have a life of their own!"
There are a surprising number of variables at play that students can control and experiment
with. Obviously, students can select colors and the sequence of their application. They can
choose where to drop marbles onto the paper. By dropping fewer marbles at a time, they can
affect more control over the marble's paths. Some students may like to experiment with
dripping paint onto the paper (from the spoon) without marbles.
Students should occasionally remove marbles and discard them into the "used marbles" bowl,
but having multiple used marbles rolling back and forth over previous tracks does help
to create "the Pollock effect", as does building up layer upon layer of color. Students
may decide to repeat certain colors on many layers.
Students should decide when their paintings are "complete". As in all many artistic styles,
"white space" or "that which is left unsaid" can sometimes be particularly compelling. (Note:
Jackson Pollock usually used unprimed canvas, and that's why his paintings so often had
beige backgrounds.)
Since the process of making rolling marble paintings is relatively quick - each student
should make several. By observing each other they'll get ideas for different techniques
to experiment with. The value of learning from each other in a collective creative process
shouldn't be discounted.
Although we recommend introducing and experimenting with basic techniques first, the
following variations have been tested successfully:
• Allow students to select and use colored or textured papers.
• Substitute different kinds of paint.
(Jackson Pollock often used enamel house paints and even rugged outdoor "aluminum paint".)
• Encourage students to mix their own paint colors.
• Show students how paint additives can produce special effects like extra gloss or iridescence.
(Alternatively, thinning paints changes their character interestingly.)
• Add metallic flakes or glitter to the paint, or sprinkle a small amount onto the paintings
as a final embellishment.
(Jackson Pollock sometimes used broken glass or sand to add texture.)
• Use balls of different sizes, weights, and textures.
Suggestion: while the paint is drying, select a museum template to use as a picture frame and decorate
it with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. You can download and print them for FREE here:
• Museum Scene with Artist (pdf 25KB)
• Museum Scene with Curator / Guide (pdf 120KB)
• Museum Scene with Security Guard (pdf 27KB)
Cut-out picture-area. Use template to frame & caption project art. Challenge students
to invent titles. (There are spaces on each frame for students to title and sign their work.)
The frame also provides a space for a short comment or artist's statement.
Lesson Plan Connections:
Once students are comfortable with the rolling-marble technique, it's time to discuss the
fundamental question: "What are they attempting to accomplish?" As Jackson Pollock was
becoming famous, many people argued whether his paintings were really "art", or just paint
drips on canvas. What made them art?
Some people came to Jackson Pollock's defense and argued his paintings expressed emotions more
sincerely than traditional painting styles. What is art, if not an evocation of feelings? Had
photography become so common that literal, representational, artwork had become marginalized or
possibly even obsolete?
The next step in this lesson plan is to go back to the trays and marbles, and paint
expressively using the newly learned technique! Challenge students to reflect on a book
they've read, a movie they've seen, or a story they've heard. Ask them to think about a setting
that scared or thrilled them, or a character they loved or hated. Challenge them to use this new
painting technique to communicate their feelings about a setting, a character, or a situation
in the story.
Looking at the examples above, can you tell which ones were answers to this challenge?
(Click on the images for larger views.)
If students are having a hard time concentrating on this part of the lesson plan, make it more
specific. Have them start by writing a feeling's name on the back of their paper, like: "Relaxed",
"Frightened", "Happy", "Angry", "Sleepy", etc. How can they communicate that feeling? After they try,
have them look at each other's work and guess what feelings inspired their friends. Are they happy
with their results? What could they improve?
Lesson Plan - Assessment:
Assessment rubrics for this lesson plan are coming soon!
Download a printer-optimized version of this page. (pdf 384KB)
See actual examples of artwork made from the Jackson Pollock lesson plan.
You're invited to submit art to the ArtHouse Children's Art Gallery!
Kids' Art Gallery Submission Instructions
Return To The ArtHouse Children's Art Gallery