The science behind Jackson Pollock’s art

Research finds he was a master of fluid dynamics.

Whatever you think of Jackson Pollock’s art, it seems there’s a bit of science to it.

Thousands of papers have been written about his style, which came to be known as fractal expressionism, and now Roberto Zenit, from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and colleagues have made a technical analysis from a fluid dynamics perspective.

Intrigued by films of Pollock in action, they explored how he was able to rhythmically pour a continuous stream of paint onto a horizontal canvas, using a device such as a stick, knife or brush to regulate the flow.

Their key discovery, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is that his technique is carefully executed to avoid what is known as coiling instability.

“When a jet, or filament, oozes down into itself, it may coil,” Zenit explains. “The best example is honey dripping onto toast – the filament forms coils when it lands.

“Coiling happens when the fluid is too viscous. Gravity pushes down, but the liquid doesn’t want to flow... so it coils to find a balance.”

What they found is that Pollock moved his hand at a sufficiently high speed and a sufficiently short height such

that this coiling would not occur. They also showed that the paint filaments did not fragment into droplets – suggesting that descriptions of his painting style as a “dripping” technique are not accurate.

Dripping implies that a fluid breaks up into discrete droplets, whereas Pollock’s fluid filaments tended to be continuous rather than fragmented.

Pollock’s technique is carefully executed to avoid what is known as coiling instability