On January 28

On January 28, 1912, Jackson Pollock was born in the beautiful city of Cody, Wyoming. Born into Scottish-Irish descent, Pollock was raised in a poor upbringing surrounded by his four older brothers (O’Connor). However, at the young age of eleven months old, Pollock’s family left Wyoming to pursue better living opportunities in California and Arizona. This becomes a repeated pattern where Pollock’s family flocks between the two states nine times before finally settling down in Los Angeles. In addition, Pollock’s father left his family at a young age and thus abandoned his mother to support five boisterous children (O’Connor). Brought into this chaotic childhood, I interpret Pollock’s violent personality forging based on the lack of fundamental family guidance and support that majority of normal children embraced growing up. Since Pollock’s father left his mother, I understand why Pollock would form an aggressive persona if surrounded by financial and emotional worries. Therefore, I interpret his wild personality to influence the style of surreal and free art Pollock will produce as an adult in the future since he had no strict parental guidance. As a result, Pollock received the freedom and liberty to express his positive and negative traits to the world. When Pollock was sixteen years old, he attends Manual Arts High School where he meets Frederick John de St. Vrain Schwankovsky, an artist that taught Pollock the basics of painting and sketching art (O’Connor). During these art sessions, Schwankovsky informs young Pollock of European art and the inspirations of theosophical concepts; fascinating Pollock to pursue surrealism in later years despite his agnostic upbringing (O’Connor). Unbeknownst to Schwankovsky, he would pave the way for Pollock to become a significant artist that inspires millions of individuals with a fresh and surreal style of painting. Furthermore, it is the people Pollock encounters in New York that will inspire his own flair of art and change society’s expectations through his work.