Pollock avoided hydrodynamic instabilities to paint with his dripping technique

2 days ago

Jackson Pollock's dripping technique involved pouring liquid paint onto a horizontal canvas, creating intricate webs of lines without hydrodynamic instabilities.
Pollock selected paint properties and applied techniques to prevent filament fragmentation and coiling, ensuring smooth, straight lines in his paintings.
The study used image analysis of historical videos to reproduce Pollock's painting process, measuring hand speed, height, and loading speed.
Experiments confirmed that Pollock avoided coiling instabilities by moving his hand sufficiently fast and maintaining certain heights, as predicted by fluid mechanics.
The findings are significant for art research and authentication, as understanding the physical conditions of Pollock's technique can help identify genuine works.
Pollock's painting action was analyzed using dimensionless parameters, showing that most traces would be straight lines, aligning with observations of his works.
The study also explored the effects of paint viscosity, showing that Pollock likely adjusted viscosity to control the appearance of coiling and fragmentation in his paintings.

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