Art AV Club: Lee Krasner

I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole recently, like you do. I took an online class and one of the bonus materials was a video about Cy Twombly. After I watched it, I wondered if there were videos on other Abstract Expressionists. And just like all trips down the YouTube rabbit hole, I surfaced several hours later awed by the amazing content and looking for snacks.

Since social media doesn’t allow for easy sharing of this kind of material I decided to make it a recurring feature on my blog. And just like that, Art AV Club was born! On Mondays, I’ll be posting videos of or about artists and sharing a bit about why what they do intrigues me. I hope you’ll go on this journey with me. Lee Krasner is my pick this week for Art AV Club.

Lee Krasner: In her own words

This short video is Lee talking about her process and work. She is an absolute delight to listen to and makes me wish I could have spoken to her and shared studio space with her.

The Umber Series

This slightly longer video is about her grief process and her work in the wake of Jackson Pollock’s death. Specifically, it’s a deeper dive into her her work called The Eye is the First Circle.

Why Lee?

I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about Lee Krasner before I picked up Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art. Reading about her drive to paint and succeed in a field dominated by men in the first chapter of that book is invigorating. When I decided to do Art AV Club I knew immediately that I’d talk about Frankenthaler first and then Krasner. It is so invigorating to see the artists talk about their process and work on video.

I particularly identified with her when she talked about tearing up her work and finding it later. The revelation she had about liking the torn up work resonated deeply with my own process. More specifically, my recently finished Stay at Home book was made out of materials I recycled from my own stash. Here’s a page from that book that I worked on top of older work of my own:

Go exploring on your own

I hope you enjoyed this Art AV Club and that it leads you to further explore the works of Lee Krasner. There are longer videos about her on YouTube or check out her work. I’ll be bringing another Abstract Expressionist next week so check back on Monday. If there’s an artist you’d like my take on, drop me a note and I’ll put them on the list!