Onofrio Catacchio

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

This biography in graphic novel form has an interesting twist. Catacchio portrays Jackson Pollock in the peak years of his fame, while he was living with Lee Krasner on Long Island. In the process he talks about Pollock's technique and how it was informed by his background.

The narrative point of view is provided by Dan, a CIA agent who moves to Long Island pretending to be working on his thesis, and seeks to cozy up to Pollock and report back on his progress. This may seem bizarre, but in fact there was a CIA operation called Long Leash that secretly backed Abstract Impressionists like Pollock with serious money, in order to dissuade American artists and art patrons from embracing Communist art. As a former cowboy from Wyoming, Pollock was the perfect unwitting front man for this clandestine operation. This was a complete revelation to me, and gives the book a very different perspective on a relatively familiar life story.… (mais)

The creator tries to spice up a pedestrian biography of the famous painter by having it narrated by a fictional CIA agent checking up on Pollock during the Cold War as part of a long leash operation to promote abstract expressionism and American culture over the Soviets.

Apparently, this is a real thing! The CIA is made up of art lovers!

But rather than delve into the history of the operation very deeply or examine the ramifications of Pollock's fame being the result of a propaganda machine, we're basically told that Pollock was talented, he was a drunk, now he is dead, and the made-up CIA spy feels bad about that.

The art is highly photo-referenced in places. Some facts seem like they are not well researched, like a conflation of the Met and MOMA into the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art for example, though that may have been a problem with the translation from the original Italian.… (mais)

Pollock Confidential: A Graphic Novel by Onofrio Catacchio is an interesting fictionalized account of a real CIA operation centering on Jackson Pollock.

First, I think prospective readers need to know what this short book is not. It is not a biography (though there is a brief overview of his early life) and this is not an assessment of his art. This is a fictionalized account of what amounts to a chapter out of both Pollock's life and CIA history. It is not intended to be a detailed history nor is it used as an opportunity to promote Pollock.

Having said all that, I think the book is really hit or miss. For me, it was more hit than miss, but that is as much because of my interests as it is the book. For some others it will likely be more miss and likely for the reasons I mention above about what the book is not. I knew about Pollock's life and art, so I am okay with having a short chapter that has some fun with a hypothetical agent. If you want more about Pollock or his art, you may find yourself wondering why you're reading this.

I would recommend this mostly to those who already know Pollock's work and life and might enjoy this fictionalized chapter out of it. While I think some other readers might be moved to learn more after reading this book I am afraid that without some background a reader might end up not caring about either the book or Pollock.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mais)