Experimental Painting

Jackson Pollock - 'One: Number 31' (1950)

Rosie McNamara - Anon (2009-2010)

(This is my own art piece inspired by Jackson Pollock)

Some people are confused by the term 'experimental painting' and when I went for an interview two weeks ago I was even asked what it meant.

In a literal sense, it is experimenting with different media, or perhaps just one medium, to produce an "art" piece. I say "art" because it is debatable whether or not this type of work is actually art. For me, it is part of a development process. I would experiment with media and techniques in order to reach a conclusion on how to produce a final piece.

Having said that, the photo above of my own work is, to me, a finished piece... Yet it is still just an experiment. I wonder if Jackson Pollock felt the same about his famous piece... Who knows?

Keith Tyson - Nature Painting (2006)

Another artist that I recently discovered is Keith Tyson. I went to an exhibition at the Royal Academy in January called 'Earth: Art of a changing world' dealing with issues such as global warming and pollution. To some, Tyson's work may not be art, however I feel there is a deep sense of unruliness and rebellion in his piece. The white contrasted against the cold blue may represent the melting ice caps, and the muddy greens and browns are particularly raw and earthy. Our eyes are drawn to the scarlet red in the left corner which throws the work out of balance and creates even more questions about the meaning of this piece... Blood? Maybe too literal?... Mankind? Maybe too deep?

What do you think?