Quiet Color

by Jonathan Ledoux

August 8, 1949: Life Magazine publishes a four page spread of paintings by an unknown Jackson Pollock with the question “Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?” Half a century later in June of 1993 Bjork Guomundsdottir released her first solo album Debut. Although the publication and release of these two unique artistic works are separated by time, form, and intention; the artists who created them are intrinsically linked in a struggle to birth the indefinable elements of the human soul.

Artist: Bjork Song: Is In Our Hands Remix

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In the late 1950’s Jackson Pollock rose to great fame with his breakthroughs in “drip painting.” The visceral and nonconformist works of art are today regarded as some of the most priceless, vivid art the world and certainly the United States has ever witnessed. It is his unique style of expression that pushed the modern art world to look at painting with a new set of eyes. There were new rules. There were no rules. There was only Pollock. It was the artist and his physical expression of a world and a soul that had only one way to define the intangible. Hans Namuth, a photographer once commissioned to capture Pollock while painting wrote “. . . There was complete silence. . . . Pollock looked at the painting. Then, unexpectedly, he picked up can and paint brush and started to move around the canvas. It was as if he suddenly realized the painting was not finished. His movements, slow at first, gradually became faster and more dance like as he flung black, white, and rust colored paint onto the canvas.”

So too, has Bjork rhythmically danced around canvases made of music for the last twenty five years. Born in Iceland, it was not until Debut, when she began singing in English, that the world was exposed to her unique point of view. By collaborating with producer Nellee Hooper, Bjork touched an emotional nerve buried deep in the heart of chunky underground electronic dance music that was beginning to grip the UK and change modern music. Lyrics of anger, love, longing, and confusion at the human experience coursed through the album and were reflected in the varied influences that blossomed in the music. The album was widely met with praise both critically and commercially. And, as Bjork continued to make music, her fight to release and expose the heartbeat of the planet and soul. “If you ever get close to a human, And human behavior, Be ready be ready to get confused.”

Both Bjork and Pollock, although critically praised in their time, have both been seen as outcasts in a modern society that seeks concreteness. True, in 2006 one of Pollock drip paintings sold for a reported $140 million; but in the early part of his career Pollock was seen by some as untalented and extreme. Today of course we reflect on his later paintings as works of art to be compared with the most elite of history’s painters. Likewise, Bjork’s works are often embraced by her critics and her fan base, yet alienate the casual listener. Point in case Volta, her much anticipated release in May 2007. The album’s biggest collaborator, Timbaland, has all but dominated global music charts for the past twelve months making hits for a storied list of today’s biggest pop stars. However, after listening to the collaboration, clairvoyance is hardly needed to realize that Bjork’s songs will not sail to the top of the charts.

Much like Pollock, Bjork’s artistic works defy traditional musical constructs that are the building blocks of today’s paint-by-numbers pop music. In the same way that Pollock was seen as an outsider or a boundary pusher, so is Bjork. Why is the artist that so clearly delineates their own specific perception of the human experience so frequently ostracized by the public? Perhaps it is simply time that is necessary for a great mass of people to recognize the genius or clarity of someone who is willing to put forth their own ideals. Or perhaps it is too scary, too close to home, for many to contemplate and experience an artist so potent at close range. Sometimes the world is scary enough for some without art to make color of life’s gray area. However, it is necessity that we as people continue to face ourselves and reveal deeper layers be it through art or another form of physical expression just as Bjork and Jackson Pollock have done. As these two artists have so vehemently proved we must strive to specify, and clarify our demons and hope that out of chaos comes order. And all that is required is courage.