Pollock?!

As Amy A. so eloquently illustrated in her discussion of the so-called "Kimbell Michelangelo," issues of artistic attribution and authenticity are constantly a source of contention in the art world. Amy and I recently sat down to watch the documentary "Who the *$&% (fuck) is Pollock?" about a small-town truck driver, Teri Horton, who purchased a painting at a thrift store for $5 that turned out to possibly be an original Jackson Pollock worth $50 million dollars. Quite the investment.

When attempting to sell the painting (which she essentially thought a piece of crap), a local art teacher approached her with the idea that it might be by the illustrious Ab-Ex painter Jackson Pollock. Her response? "Who the fuck is Pollock?" Our response? Do these romanticized stories of discovering lost paintings in junk shops actually hold any merit?

Horton's ignorance of modern art aside, the discovery of this painting led to a scholarly debate that lasted over ten years. Though connoisseurs tend to shy away from validating the piece as an original by the artist, forensic studies on the paint consistency (comparing the acrylic composition of the paints used between that on the canvas and the remains on Pollock's studio floor) and fingerprints (found on the back of the painting and judged against those found on known Pollocks) point to the authenticity of the work. Art nerds that we are, Amy and I, with our good friend Katie, kept an ongoing debate throughout the movie, resulting in a somewhat solidified belief that the painting was an original but was completed at a later time in his life after the bulk of his compositions. Among other reasons, our theory stems from the forensic findings, the presence of acrylic in his paint (a medium that was not frequently utilized in modern art until years after the artist's death) and his wife's dementia at old age that could possibly have led to the loss of a smaller piece in his body of work. This is only a working theory, however. I'd love to see the painting in person to form my own opinions. Art speaks to you if you take the time to listen, and this piece could have a lot to say.