Lee Krasner

Lee Krasner was a 20^th century abstract expressionist who sought out her inspiration from Jackson Pollock and Barbara Rose. Her work is reflective of her inspiration, with passionate slashes of paint across the canvas. Abstract expressionists in particular work with passion and allow their emotions to drive their paintbrush, not their hand-eye-coordination. Her fame came from her talent in refining Pollock’s concepts. In fact, not only did she draw inspiration from Jackson Pollock, she was married to him.

Krasner was a ground breaking artist for her time, simply for being a woman and a successful artist. Her relationship with Jackson Pollock no doubt helped her debut as a serious artist, but her work stood for its own.

Krasner’s work has a specific color palette: greens, pinks, oranges and earth tones. And her work is highly conceptual in terms of outlining however she feels at the time of the painting. It’s very spur of the moment work. She constantly challenged herself as an artist and embraced her identity as a woman in art. Krasner sought out to help people understand abstract art and along the way, came up with her “Little Image” Series, that made her a renowned artist.  Her distinct repetitive lines resembled hieroglyphs and made her work stand out among other abstract artists. Pieces such as Night Creatures reflect Krasner’s signature stroke style that earned her a name in the art world. Night Creatures came out of Krasner’s night work which was driven by a combination of insomnia and depression. In her frustration, Krasner created art, and became living proof of the ties between emotional disturbances and creativity.

Krasner inspires me as a strong woman making history as an artist. I find it remarkable that she was married to such an influential artist and still managed to trek her own brilliant career instead of living in the shadows of her husband. On top of this, her emotional state inspires me. As someone who has struggled with depression, compulsiveness, and blood disorders that cause fluctuations in sleep habits, I truly appreciate Krasner’s ability to essentially vent through art. I struggled in defining myself as a human being, let alone an artist, at the worst of my depression, and her perseverance to not only create, but to create artwork that in turn was so moving, astounds and inspires me. I discovered her at just the right time: that when times are tough it’s important to push through as an artist and let it out through a paintbrush.

Such a cute artsy couple.

Shaffer, Jessica. Lee Krasner. The Art Story.org. 2011. Web. 11 August 2011. <http://www.theartstory.org/artist-krasner-lee.htm>.