 "Photo:")
The authenticity of a number of paintings credited to Jackson Pollock - paintings to be on display in the McMullen Museum of Art - has come into question as Harvard researchers recently found materials in the paintings that were not available until after the artist's death. Despite this development, the museum still plans to display the canvases this September.
With some of the most up-to-date technology at their disposal, like scanning electron microscopy, Harvard researchers investigated three of 25 recently discovered paintings (there were originally 32, but some were destroyed in the discovery and removal processes).
According to a Harvard University Arts Museum press release, the researchers found pigments that would not have been available to the public until the early 1960s, years after Pollock's death in 1956.
A brown pigment used in one of the paintings was not available until as late as 1986 and was not commonly used as an artist's paint until 1996.
Despite these findings, there is still belief that the pieces could very well have been composed by Pollock.
The paintings were discovered five years ago by Alex Matter in the storage facility of his deceased father, Herbert Matter.
The pieces were wrapped in brown paper and labeled, in Matter's handwriting, as "32 Jackson experimental works" along with the note, "Robi paints."
"Robi," the nickname of Matter's brother-in-law, Robert Rebetez, owned an art supply store in Switzerland.
"It might have been at the behest of Matter that the individual who executed these works experimented with these paints imported from Switzerland," said professor Claude Cernuschi. As an associate professor for BC's fine arts department and an art history assistant chairperson, Cernuschi has had a hand in the exhibit's research and planning.
It is also possible that Rebetez imported these materials from elsewhere and provided samples to Matter, who, in turn, gave them to the artist of the 32 paintings.
Research on this theory is ongoing, but, if true, could account for the materials in question.
While at this point it is uncertain whether the paintings are Pollock originals, one thing is for sure: The exhibit at the McMullen Museum is still scheduled for opening Sept. 1.
"We are going to exhibit the pieces [in the Matter collection] and lay out all of the evidence at our disposal up to the time of the opening. At this point, we cannot anticipate where that evidence will point," said Cernuschi.
Since its original conception, the premise and ideas behind this exhibit have evolved as new information pours in. The exhibit, entitled Pollock Matters, will explore several facets of the relationship between Pollock and Matter. It will also explore how the two potentially influenced each other's work. Many previously unseen letters and photographs will be on display to help explain some of the artistic connections between many of Pollock's paintings and Matter's photographs.
Nancy Netzer, McMullen Museum director and a professor of art history, explains, "Our exhibition's focus is on 'the state of the question,' not on the authenticity of the paintings; one of the aims of the exhibition will be to bring together and present to the public all the known, possibly conflicting, evidence concerning the attribution of the newly discovered paintings."
The museum will also publish a fully illustrated scholarly catalogue with several essays exploring many ideas and questions that the pieces have provoked. Cernuschi, along with professor Andrzej Herczynski of BC's physics department, are some of the contributors to these many essays that are currently in the works.
One in particular will deal with the issue of scale in Pollock's work. Since Pollock's technique relies heavily on gravity, a closer look will be given to whether or not that technique faces inherent limitations.
As these recently discovered pieces are relatively small in comparison to his most famous works, they sparked an investigation of the issue of scale in his production as a whole. The smallest of the 25 found was 7x9 inches, while the largest was 15x10 inches. Pollock paintings are usually on large canvasses.
Also, another essay on fractals is underway. Fractals, or geometric patterns, are commonly found in several of Pollock's paintings. This concept, which has roots in both geometry and physics, became a topic of discussion and debate after University of Oregon physicist Richard Taylor claimed that one may authenticate a Pollock painting on the basis of whether it is fractal or not.
Between now and September, both scientific and scholarly research will be continuous. With help coming from Harvard researcher, experts at the Museum of Fine Arts, and several BC professors, all parties involved plan to explore all leads.
"Additional paintings are in the process of being tested, and we hope that the material analysis will be complete before the opening [of the exhibit] so that the results may be presented to the public," said Cernuschi.
Be the first to comment on this article!