Monday, August 2, 2010

The Sartorial Influence of Jackson Pollock

“…When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well….”
“Jack The Dripper” … I love the chaotic textural and color-way of Pollock. Thanks to Peggy Guggenheim for propping him up and darn that tree for stepping out in front of him. Gone in a second, at forty four.
Now I’m just too busy to craft anything voluminous and so I’ve essentially lied to you with the title of this story so you’d come see me. I’ll write some breakthrough, life changing sh_t later in the week. What I did realize yesterday is that I haven’t worn anything lately that would be an affront to the dignity of my followers. You know, stuff that makes Young Fogey and other less courageous commenters (Anonymous-ers) try to reform or just flat out make fun of me.
So I busted out my Pollock khakis. These were actually owned by Jackson Pollock and now they are owned by me. At least the top half. I sold the trouser legs for breathtaking amounts of dough.
Laugh if you want but LFG and I run in some pretty serious art circles. My baby is an accomplished works on paper conservator...so there. Look at those deft little hands, navigating gingerly the application of varthane on an original Carlo Pellegrini caricature...without a ventilator mask. She's a graduate of The Cortauld as well as the Hello Kitty School of Textile and Paper and Stuff Restoration. Just to let you know how brilliant she is...LFG outed Sir Anthony Blunt and she wasn't even born yet. Damn.
And just when I'd decided that my hoof pick belt was a winter staple, it pounced on me. First time I think, that I've worn any belt other than my LFG Father's Day sterling buckle. Shut up.
While we're on the subject of eye-rolling fuzzy dice-isms, I'm down to only two wrist adornments these days. The cotton friendship bracelets finally gave up the ghost. Rest assured though, that I'm gonna load this thang back up soon enough. Shut the....

So stay tuned for whatever-whenever. The Lord only knows when the next post of any merit will rise from the wherever.

Onward. Dripping and Splashing.
ADG
Oh and ps.…here’s a few more dating site photos. Now I’m not saying to NOT include a cowboy hat shot in your dating profile picture lineup. 
Who knows, you may be looking exclusively for a girl-in-a-cowboy hat-hankering kind of a fella. The onliest thing I’m saying is that I be not that man.
These “I’m kinda wild and if you don’t believe me look at this picture of me with a cowboy hat on at the Hazzard County Tractor Pull” pictures scare me. I’d probably have some “performance anxiety issues” if suddenly you pulled out said hat as a prop.
Reason being is that I almost got my ass beat at an all-day outdoor country music festival in Manassas Virginia in 1993. I’d never been to one before and you can bet your sweet cowboy hat wearin’ ass I’ll not go again.
Giddyup girls.

34 comments:

The Blushing Hostess said...

I don't want you to show me these kinds of women again - until now, it was only an unsubstantiated rumor that they existed at all. Now send me your # because I am your way all the time and I will call you and demand an audience.
Er, a jury of my peer, ah hem.

K.S.Anthony said...

Back to basic black. Thank the Lord (and ADG).

Unknown said...

Several blogs have really saved my sanity the past 10 days, yours among them. I am stranded @ my Mother's house due to my Father's serious illness and there has been precious levity, as you might imagine, but what I've had is priceless...so Thank You for that. You can save the life changing sh_t for later. :-) I'll be back.

Anonymous said...

Yet another great post. I've been trying to talk a painter (surrealist) friend into marketing this idea for several years now. I would recommend that you watch "Who the *$&% Is Jackson Pollock" if you have not already. I imagine that you have watched the film starring Ed Harris as Pollock.

Go see the Rothko exhibition at the NGA (I'm quite fond of painting, and it has healed the hell out of me).

~Hilton

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

Pollock - Atrocious. Utter shite. Are you pulling our leg, ADG?

Attractive cougars wearing Cowgirl hat - Cute! Bring it on girlz.

Defender of The Faith said...

ADG

As expected, an interesting perspective on Jackson Pollock, his work and its implications on American art, the unraveling of the rule of law and the declince of DJIA.

From what I have gathered from some folks from the NYC artiste community who knew him well, Ed Harris' portrayl of him in Pollock a few years back was spot on.

As the refined master of subtle irony, the content and pics regarding the vicissitudes of the mature dating scene as as noted in your content on that those knotty topics last week and today regarding scarce and scary pickings in that market are indeed sobering. The antics of a trio of mid-fifty something recently divorced women at Grand Hotel a couple of weeks ago was unsettling to the point at which they gave a new defintion to "a commando raid" at afternoon tea hosted daily by that esteemed institution. No kidding. I thought my wife and I were at the new Ibiza in the middle of Lake Huron at least for a few moments as these Junior League Sustainers acted like the girls who used to work the perimeter of the former US Navy base at Subic Bay.

Keep exploring the intellectual frontiers of life's more important paradoxes and engimas while simultaneously keeping an sensitive finger on the pulse of the wayward, white trash and the wanting.

In Ann Arbor, MI USA I remain.

Defender of the Faith

ADG said...

Faith Defender...I just blew lemonaide (I'm on the wagon) through my nose as I read your clever comments. The Lake Huron Junior League image in my mind was the tipping point for lemon-nostril vapor lock. Damn funny.

LagunaTradmon...I no my friend. There's no sarcasm, leg pulling or irony in any of this stuff.

Hilton...really glad you found your way to art as a healing mechanism. Really.

ami....so sorry about your dad. My frail mother in S.C. was in the hospital for the better part of six weeks, two summers ago. Very humbling to see ones parents in such need of our care for a change. We'll pray for you and your dad and we'll try to come up with another snorter or two to keep you distracted. I'd recommend that you go to www.funnyordie.com and watch "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Gaflianakis. Watch the Nathalie Portman one first and then watch the Ben Stiller one. That should hold you for a bit.

KSA...indeed. I ain't EVER changing this shit again.

Blushing...I'll shoot you an email with my digits. Or you can just stand at the intersection of King and Washington and wail for me.

SouthernProletariat said...

ADG... I believe I am going to have to get your friend Allie von caliperpolice after your for crimes against humanity. Posting that adorable picture of LFG with the questionable cowboysenoritawannabees is definitely a crime. I am sure your loyal readers can come up with a suitable punishment. Perhaps 90 days in poly-cotton? Much like those monitoring bracelets the celebs are forced to wear...

NCJack said...

That darlin' third down appears to be wearing a trophy belt buckle: Got to wonder what she rode to win it?!

Pollock fan myself: when someone says "anybody/my six year old could do that", I tell 'em "Have at it then, and get rich! What's keepin' ya?"

And that he's your sartorial influence is no big surprise to constant readers.

Main Line Sportsman said...

Gottta throw in with LBT on this one...never liked Pollock's busy,strident and disjointed stuff...really does look like it was painted by that monkey in the Frankie and Annette Beach movie....
Now we need to hear the anecdote wherein y'all almost got pummeled by SKOAL suckling Brooks and Dunne guy groupies...
Lastly..Ed Harris does do a damn fine job in the movie bio...you sure those khakis were not from wardrobe??

Giuseppe said...

Goddamit...those khakis...you win again, friend.
The Americana/Authenticity junkies can all go cry in their pants.

Young Fogey said...

Jack the Dripper: another modern who put the "f" in "art." The fractals that allegedly appear in his work are not there on purpose--that's what happens when paint splatters. He can't hold a candle to someone with real talent, like Rockwell.

Nice painting pants. Why'ja turn 'em into cutoffs? Now you can't paint in them anymore. Good for the backyard, maybe?

Bracelets and the belt? Now you're pimpin'!

I'm soooo glad I don't have to deal with cougars; I pray I never shall. Good luck in the jungle, mon ami.

Anonymous English Female said...

ADG - The shorts are cool. They have the added advantage they'd go with any one of your 7287 hand made shirts.

heavy tweed jacket said...

Frame those khakis and sell them for a fortune. More of a Rothko fan, though.

Unknown said...

thanks for the recommendations. as it happens, those are the ONLY two episodes of "Between the Ferns" I have seen! I have amassed quite a blogroll and have made some new friends, so not a total loss, what?

( LOVE Jackson Pollock, love Ed Harris more ;) )

Nelle Somerville said...

I just choked on a Skittle reading your reaction to Faith Defender. Classic! My little photo in this post was taken on my honeymoon at said Grand Hotel. Cheers to a fellow Michigander! BTW, LFG is too precious for words now, but my lawd how cute was she as a younger babe? Those curls!

ADG said...

Nelle...yep, that Grand Hotel vision is worth pulling out and putting it in a post all it's own. And thanks for your kind comments about LFG. She's still beautiful but I gotta tell you, from about age two-five, people stopped on the street to talk to her. Amazing, amazing gift she continues to be.

ami...ok, then I'll find the "buttrocket" video clip and send it to you. How's about the grape stomp video on YouTube. I can't watch it without crying with laughter.

HeavyTweedMon...where you been?

anonengfem....7288

YounFogeyMon...the good still outweighs the bad in middle aged dating land. I've only highlighted the horrors. Rockwell? Who dat?

Giuseppe...still makes me chuckle what those boys pay for such things.

MainLiner...I kid you not man....you've NAILED the dynamics of the country music ass whup saga. And Brooks and Dunn was the closing act.

NCJack...You got me. Me and Pollock...

SouthernProleGal...loved seeing the story about your gals at the American Girl Store. Do your girls have Bitty Baby? We have an extra bath tub for Bitty Baby if you want it. Oh, and 90 days in poly cotton...shoot me now.

Anonymous said...

The bracelets - on a grown man - out of college.....really? Come on.

ADG said...

AnonBracelets....are you kidding? Really? Obviously you haven't been hanging around these parts too long. There's usually 5-7 on that wrist.

The Queen said...

WOw... These are a lot better choices for dating women than the crap they set me up with for men.. I set up an account just because I had nothing to blog about... I wouldn't do em with my cat's kitty..

Young Fogey said...

AnonBracelets,

I have finally divined ADG's sartorial type. It can be summarized in one catchy phrase:

Preppy Pimp.

Now, to be more accurate, it is Southern Frat Boy Preppy Pimp, but that's not as snappy.

Have you seen his pants yet? The ones that can stun small animals at 50 paces? The ones that turn the stomachs of the most hard-boiled detectives, the ones who've seen the most gruesome crime scenes? If not, be scared—be very scared.

Anonymous said...

Common ADG......your blog attracts people. Newcomers are encouraged, right? Tell 'Bracelets' what the wrist candy is all about. Not everyone who visits you knows what you and LFG are "up to". Be a mensch, Bubbe.

SFBayArea

ADG said...

TheQueen...I feel your pain.

AnonSFBay...Newcomers ARE encouraged and yes, I'll have to take up the bracelet issue in a post as a reminder to all readers that my ten year old fashion diva decides what adorns my wrist. Bubbe-out.

Fogey...I'm loving the new moniker...PreppyPimp. Damn.

Memphis88 said...

You seen the Navy Shell weejuns over in The Trad?

Anonymous said...

Your khakis with the colorful splatters brought to mind the windows of the newly opening American Eagle stores for kids. The store is called: 77kids. I will be interested in LFG's take on their clothes.

My opinion: Like GAP Kids, not bad, but I prefer Lauren's RUGBY, and CREWcuts. (Please tell me LFG doesn't like Limited, Too.)

ilovelimegreen said...

Had I known LFG was a paper conservator, I could have sent much business her way...But now I know where to send business in the future!

And ADG, love those cut-off khakis, especially WITH the belt; I had a Pollock shirt which was one of my most prized posssessions.

Lisa said...

Having spent a considerable part of my life in Texas, the cowboy hat doesn't really seem like an issue to me (not that I wear one, I'd look like a dork - cowboy boots are an ENTIRELY different animal though.) Given that you are in Virginia I could see that the hat would scare the bejesus out of you.

I just got back from a visit (family) to Texas and there was an ad in the "Austin Statesman" for the rubber bands LFG is so fond of in Texas (UT) Burnt Orange (capitalized because of deference) and in Texas-themed shapes. Almost thought of telling you about them so she could be ahead of the game but the extreme heat and wine-consumption completely altered my thinking-capacity. So many grey cells died on this trip
:(.

I know it's hotter than hades on the eastern seaboard, but it's hotter in Texas. shut up.

PS And NO!!!!! I won't get rid of the rubber Belgians.

Mason said...

The fact that you own a piece of Pollock's wardrobe is awesome, the fact that people were all aflutter about those JCrew splatter shorts - which look considerably less cool - just tops it off.

Sheik of Araby said...

Let's have a blog post "written" by the poor, unsuspecting woman who stumbles across your online dating profile. Please tell me you posted a picture of your cowboy hat and ADG rodeo buckle.

Jeremiah said...

Great post. "Shut up" jumped the shark. A long time ago and still...

Jeremiah

ADG said...

Jeremiah...I've been told that about Shut up and shark jumping many times before. What about "Shut the f_ _ _ up" ?

SheikofAraby...there is one of those shots of me. Butcept it's on a swinger's site and I'm otherwise naked.

Mason....what's funny about JCrew/Polo splatter shorts is that they charge extry for what a five year old would do to your togs for nothin'.

Lisa...love you like family baby but the rubber belgians are wrong. so wrong. Can't believe that you didn't get us a pack of the Texas Bandz.

What happened to you Pollock shirt.

Anonymous...sadly, LFG has lost her appetite for CrewCuts...espcially troubling since the local-ish outlet had great deals on that stuff. She likes Justice right now which is ok since her mother uses a rather tough editorial hand when things are selcted. LFG's mom used to work for Armani.

Memphis88...yes, I saw the blue shoes. Gots some green ones rolling next month that must be paid for.

Unknown said...

Ahh, ADG, I happen to LOVE that LFG owns rights to your wrist...and that good taste is being generationally transmitted in toto. If it helps with the single-parent-worrying-about-impending-teenagerdom, I've two girls in the midst of it, and it surprisingly ain't so bad. We've one excruciatingly Trad and one iconoclast in this haus, and the Trad has dictated what I am allowed to wear ever since she was 6...which, come to think of it, was when her dad and I parted ways, amicably. Hm. But the Silly Bands are remarkably still popular with the 15y Trad and 13y Iconoclast, but we're a bit slow on the Annapolis turf, I suppose! Keep up the magnificent work. You remind me with each post how fabulous it is to be alive. Thank you, immeasurably, for that.

Summer is a Verb said...

Do you know someone had the audacity to leave a comment on my Hermes sh**t pick bracelet post referring to the "Maxminimus" sh** pick belt? The "Maxminimus" sh** pick belt??? I was sure to set them straight on the "origin" of all sh** pick items. Atho, you do get sole credit for the sh** pick dubbing. Annnd, one last sh** pick for good measure...XXOO

ps...spent all of 24 hours at the Courtship of Eddie's Father condo goes Jihad til I hightailed it back to the beach.

Lisa said...

Here is the link to the Texas Bandz:http://www.suepatrick.com/gifts/collegiate/logobanz.html. Sue Patrick is the store in Austin and they are $5.95 a pack. Since I don't have your email/address, getting you a set never entered my (foggy) mind. While I'm at it, would you like the link to the rubber Belgians???? I'm only too happy to share my 'finds'. :)