Jackson Pollock

"Jack the Dripper". Text by Armand Limnander. The New York Times Style Magazine / Men. Spring 2008.  

excerpted text and quotes: 

"Like James Dean and Marylin Monroe, Pollock has entered the canon of American icons not just because of his artistic accomplishments, but also thanks to the myth surrounding his tortured life and premature death. (Many have surmised that even if he had survived the car crash, his severe alcoholsim woudl have killed him). No wonder fashion designers keep bringing him up: he's the archetype of the all-American, ruggedly handsome, bottle-swinging man with plenty of talent and a (well-hidden) sensitive side". 

"A year ago, Hedi Slimane Borrowed Pollock's drip artwork for Dior Homme; in the late 90's, Helmut Lang started a trend of paint-splattered denim, sending enthusiastic imitators to their garages. (As with Pollock's art, the do-it-yourself versions never quite matched the original). This season, Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent refreshed the action-painting look with pants, shorts and shoes smudged with practically every color in the Benjamin Moore catalog: in New York Adam Kimmel took a complementary approach, focusing not on the abstract expressionist's artwork but on what the artist actually wore". 

"Pollock famously said that modern art is the expression of the contemporary aims of the age we're living in. I find that very inspirational, because every generation has to deal with issues in its own way. His work was the result of a true need to express, and with jeans, T-shirts and overalls, he embodied the idea of a man as creator. He was at the forefront of existential masculinity".(Adam Kimmel)

Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane. A/W 07-08.