Darkness Released
Jackson Pollock, untitled (1941)
Inner turmoil long restrained,
draining all strength,
seeks an outlet.
Understanding, born
of disaffection,
finds direction.
Vision, a product of light,
rises from darkness,
no longer contained.
Darkness,
even in the light,
is still darkness.
With Guess That Art III, Ronovan asks us to write a poem inspired by a painting, artist and title unnamed. Coincidentally, the night before the prompt, I finished reading the autobiography of Thomas Hart Benton, in which a late chapter (added in a later revision) discussed this artist, Jackson Pollock. It prompted me to look for examples of his work. I was surprised by this piece, untitled (1941), and a few others as they are not the sort of work I associated with him.
Image source: wikiart.org
rivrvlogr 
Exactly. I had to look it up because I didn’t believe it!
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🙂
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I do like your poem, yes we certainly did see very similar themes. It’s obvious the painting speaks clearly to us . Thank you for putting me out of my misery about the artist.💜
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Ha!
Thanks!
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Poem and painting work well together … giving me a sense of stepping from middle of tangled dark drapes to the edge, peering into light, perhaps (or not) able to step clear of the dark mass … yet in no way is the darkness dissipated; it remains, with a sort of magnetic draw luring one back from the light …
All in all, could we appreciate light if we did not know darkness?
(I like this image – a bit like the tangled dead crinum leaves I’ve just pulled away from fresh growth, letting light enter the clump at ground level.)
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Thank you.
I saw this as a creeping advance of a tangible darkness, though I must say I prefer the thought of stepping out of darkness.
And I like knowing that we can look at art and see it as echoing or mirroring real life situations, such as old growth giving way to new.
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There’s something very insect-like about the art. Insects have often released darkness into human life…(K)
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They do have that pestilence gig down to an art.
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I wouldn’t have known either that this is Pollock. Interesting. 🙂
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There are other pieces similar to this, as well.
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Joining in with everyone else—this isn’t the Jackson Pollock I’m familiar with. I prefer this 🙂
That last phrase is tremendous.
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Thank you, Jane.
I saw a horned figure, with that looming eye, poised with bent legs, ready to step out and strike.
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I saw a beak, same idea, sharp and nasty.
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Pollock, mmmm!! Creepy but I like that your poem gives it light.
Pat
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🙂
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