Chapter 9 Would You Like That With or Without Mayo?
How Interdisciplinary Collaboration Slows the Spread of Popular Misconceptions in Modern Art Scholarship
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Abstract
There is no evidence that Willem de Kooning added mayonnaise to his paints, and E. I. du Pont de Nemours was not the manufacturer that supplied Jackson Pollock with custom paint formulations. These popular misconceptions can be traced to errors in interpretation or transcription of primary sources, repeatedly cited and referenced until the original mistakes were transformed into accepted, albeit unsubstantiated, truth. The work of these artists and their colleagues forms a transformative link between the nature-based abstraction of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century modernists and the conceptual, materials-focused process art that rose to prominence after World War II. The overt materiality of mid-twentieth-century art is at the heart of this evolution, and valuable information about these artworks and their production methods may be lost when misinformation becomes entrenched in the academic canon. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to avoid misdirection and support scholarship that enhances our understanding of modern art. This essay utilizes existing documentation and collaborative research related to the manufacture, use, and physical behaviour of mid-twentieth-century art materials to debunk some commonly held beliefs about well-known Abstract Expressionist artists. It underscores how the combined resources of curators and conservators are needed to place the physical evidence in historical context and uncover the overlooked -- and far more interesting -- practices underlying the myths.