Method for Evaluating Pollocks Is Bunk, Researchers Say

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A recent article, published in the science journal Nature, focuses on research by University of Oregon phyics professor Richard P. Taylor. Taylor was hired by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation recently to examine a set of Pollock-like drip paintings discovered in a storage locker in Wainscott, N.Y.

Professor Taylor pioneered a technique that identifies consistent patterns—known as fractals—in several authentic Pollocks. He found “significant differences” between the authentic paintings and the ones found in Wainscott.

However, Katherine Jones-Smith, a doctoral student at Case Western Reserve University, states in the Nature article that Taylor’s method is flawed. While researching his theories, she found that simple, childlike drawings made using Adobe Photoshop exhibited the same fractal characteristics that Taylor said were in Pollock masterpieces.

Taylor replied that he stands by his work.

The New York Times: The Case of Pollock’s Fractals Focuses on Physics