Looking Outwards 06: Randomness

The painting, Shimmering Substance (1946), by Jackson Pollock combined his technique of utilizing random shapes and colors to create a comprehensive piece. I admired the way he was able to use this apparent lack of purpose to drive forth purpose in his work; a paradoxical paragon of art, if you will. Pollock was famed for the way he approached art, sparking forth a new movement of randomness in abstract art and this painting proves it all the more so. Although he did not utilize algorithms (as it was a traditional media piece), the way he approached the creation of the work could have been seen as similar to how a computer generates randomness: he utilized his whims to emulate the randomness that a computer can now generate. However, despite doing so, Pollock was able to use his artistic senses to balance out the randomness of the painting with a cohesion that allowed the painting to not only present a theme of shimmering but also look aesthetically pleasing.

^^ the aforementioned painting