Educational Media Reviews Online

This video is made up of two segments from the News Hour with Jim Lehrer: one covering an exhibition of Jackson Pollock's work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the other covering an exhibition of Mark Rothko's work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Make no mistake, these segments are news items and would serve best as basic background for those who wished to see these (now long-departed) exhibitions.

The first segment, originally entitled "Jack the Dripper," provides basic biographical information and a few interesting insights into Pollock's work from Kirk Varnedoe, a curator at MoMA. The archival footage of Pollock at work is useful in understanding his painting. On the other hand, the shots of the paintings in the exhibit fail to capture the power of the large paintings, either in the wide shots or in the too numerous close-ups.

The second segment, originally entitled "The Power of Color," uses much the same approach with even less success. The reporter treats the piece quite casually, at one point asking viewers what they think of the paintings and even asking one person to read a poem that a painting inspired. The reporter then goes on to interview his own father, Joseph Solman, who was active with Rothko in "The Ten." Also interviewed to no great effect is Rothko biographer Dore Ashton. One bright note here is that the paintings come across better than the Pollock pieces.

The strongest impression that viewers will be left with is of both Pollock and Rothko's alcoholism and depression. This is unfortunate, considering the important places they each hold in the development of art in the twentieth century. This video is an out-of-date news item about exhibitions that have long since left the museums, and is not particularly a useful document for someone interested in Abstract Expressionism. Not recommended.