blog 2

1.) As the film continued, Pollock progressively became more troubled and his demons began to take effect with his marriage, friendships, and of course his art work. Unfortunately, some professionals (Jackson in particular) do not understand that abusing substances, alcohol, and pills will ultimately lead to one's downfall, and in this case, it did. As Jackson and his wife moved to Rhode Island to escape from the binge drinking and cramped space, Pollock began to find his new ways in art and continue his dream of being creative and respected in the art business. However, he needed to be careful what he wished for as his art became internationally recognized through his start up in The Nation Magazine. Through this recgonition, Pollock and, more or less, his wife, began to create an egocentric attitude that was clearly demonstrated when Jackson's entire family came to visit him. Rather than focusing on bringing back his lost relationships, the two of them spent the entire visit talking about Pollock's accomplishments. Naturally, Jackson was beginning to lose his mind. However, the true rage building in Jackson's head was demonstrated at the Thanksgiving table when he was, prior to the meal, told to paint while being filmed. The camera man's light bulb blew out and he told Jackson that the interview was over and everything was finished. Unfortunately for this camera man, he did not understand Pollock's mentality and out of rage, Jackson opened the whiskey bottle for the first time in two years. Of course, Jackson caused a scene, screamed belligerently, and eventually knocked the entire Thanksgiving dinner table over.

As his alcoholic self had come back to reality, Jackson would gain eighty pounds, not shave, and demonstrated his lack of morals even further by referring to his wife as some of the most vulgar words in the english language. The alcohol was his true turn of events. There was a distinct possibility that Jackson would have been remembered through the 60's and perhaps the 70's had he taken better care of himself. On the other hand, this did not happen and Jackson's lack of respect for his wife led him to have an open affair, which ultimately concluded with his drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of himself and his mistress' friend. Anyone could summarize the film, but this is not the area of focus. Rather, the importance of this scene and more importantly the film, is that Jackson was a unique individual who loved to paint, come up with new ideas, and get smashed drunk after. The success and the media's lack of appreciation for what he really stood for drove him insane and as a result he destroyed his marriage and relationships that he built during his long and painful life.

2.) Nietzsche gives a respectable view of looking at the demons of Dionysian and the beauty of Apollonian. In other words, one can be creative, a genius, and carry all of the postive characteristics of the creative 'artist', but in the end, there are demons (forms of abuse) that still take over the background of our personalities. In this case, Jackson Pollock can very easily relate to the concepts of Nietzsche. Jackson was well respected in his profession as he pushed the envelope of the art business and didn't paint objects, but made the style of random colors and brush strokes more than the art work of a seven year old. He was undoubtedly a genius at what he did and as a result of his confused style, he had many issues that took years to become seriously problematic. Yes, Jackson was certainly crazy before he became famous, but his issues were much worse for the environment that surrounded him when he became famous. Dionysis, the deity that represents Jackson's intoxicated self certainly came to play in his later years. The lack of respect for his wife and his constant outbursts created him into a monster that was not the same Jackson Pollock prior to his fame. He truly is a clear example of Nietzsche' 'greek tragedy' as he was extremely successful in his profession, but his personal demons would always take over, resulting in a "tragedy".

3.) Basquiat has been very impressive thus far as the cast, editing, and dialogue are attention grabbing and seem to create a great center for the understanding of who Basquiat was as a person. The message that could be gather so far is that his art style was not duplicating anything done before. He could make art out of anything. Basquiat would look at the sky and picture a man surfing waves. He would go to to diner, pour syrup on the table, and draw a face with a knife. Not to mention, his street graffiti which will most likely attract attention is either genius, creative, or just simply both. Personally, his greatest idea was prank calling the suicide hotline and making music through phony dialogues. Bonecio Del Toro is his closest friend and through this character, the audience had been notified that Basquiat had some serious drug issues. The two of them spend the entire night using cocaine and most likely cocaine will lead to heroin, which will certainly lead to his addiction. When the film continues and the class is further shown Basquiat's problems, it could be fair to assume that we will see his fame take him through a roller coaster of ups and downs in which he makes money, but is exposed to entirely too many substances (in this case, heroin). People will probably see his street graffiti or other unique styles of art and acknowledge him as a genius. However, his genius can not outrun the fate of addiction.