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Dinner with Jackson Pollock
"I thought he was the genius wild man throwing paint in the air and drinking too much," Lea said, confirming a caricature of Pollock that is perhaps the most widely known. "And then the great surprise was that he was the baker, which is an art and science that requires precision. That was a great shock to me — he’s a baker but his artwork is not like that."
But, in a twist, Pollock's precision with food casts fresh light on the current scholarship of his work: "But then, he denied the accidental in his work," Lea told me. "He said he knew exactly where the splats of paint would land. Scientific studies now actually show an incredible amount of design and structure to that work." It's very contrary, she said, to how the average person sees the work of Jackson Pollock. "If you look at his cooking from this perspective there’s a great connection to how he painted."
Perhaps the most poignant food connection in Pollock's story, however, is the diet Lea discovered in her research that was intended to cure his alcoholism. "There were very valid attempts to assist him in these cures," she told me. "Very poignant and showed this side of him that was not so egocentric but tried very hard to overcome alcoholism, with therapy and diet, from the 1930s on. There’s a sadness there to find these things out."
The book itself is a beautiful, lively melding of Pollock's work and his recipes, drawn together with Lea's photography, writing, and interviews with his family. She tells many stories, like that of the Cross-Country Johnny Cakes, which Pollock and his brother lived off of on their cross-country road trip to visit their mother in California. There are stories of happy times and many images of Pollock's work, and photographs of him in the studio. It's a rare cookbook — one that doesn't simply offer the novelty of a famous artist's recipes and cooking, but offers fascinating insight on his life as a human being as well.
But, in a twist, Pollock's precision with food casts fresh light on the current scholarship of his work: "But then, he denied the accidental in his work," Lea told me. "He said he knew exactly where the splats of paint would land. Scientific studies now actually show an incredible amount of design and structure to that work." It's very contrary, she said, to how the average person sees the work of Jackson Pollock. "If you look at his cooking from this perspective there’s a great connection to how he painted."
Perhaps the most poignant food connection in Pollock's story, however, is the diet Lea discovered in her research that was intended to cure his alcoholism. "There were very valid attempts to assist him in these cures," she told me. "Very poignant and showed this side of him that was not so egocentric but tried very hard to overcome alcoholism, with therapy and diet, from the 1930s on. There’s a sadness there to find these things out."
The book itself is a beautiful, lively melding of Pollock's work and his recipes, drawn together with Lea's photography, writing, and interviews with his family. She tells many stories, like that of the Cross-Country Johnny Cakes, which Pollock and his brother lived off of on their cross-country road trip to visit their mother in California. There are stories of happy times and many images of Pollock's work, and photographs of him in the studio. It's a rare cookbook — one that doesn't simply offer the novelty of a famous artist's recipes and cooking, but offers fascinating insight on his life as a human being as well.
Anyone have this book? I am adding it to my 'wish' list- I think it looks wonderful!
http://www.thekitchn.com/jackson-pollocks-famous-recipe-for-spaghetti-sauce-cookbook-recipes-219713?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed
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