Dripped

Film commentary: Dripped

A very amusing tribute to the painter Jackson Pollock, his artistic research and his discovery of the dripping technique, an artistic technique which consists of letting a liquid fall drop by drop and superimposing colours.

In search of inspiration, Jack, the hero of the film, literally feeds on paintings; he steals masterpieces from prestigious museums and swallows them to become one with them. Hungry and unsatisfied with his work as an artist, he violently throws his paint onto the canvas and invents a new pictorial genre: dripping.

Explaining art history to children

This is an excellent opportunity to discuss with children the different periods in the history of art, such as impressionism and cubism, but also abstract art andaction painting (active painting which appeared at the beginning of the 1950s), which emphasises the action of painting and of which Jackson Pollock is one of the main figures.

At the beginning of the film, the hero steals the painting "Portrait of Dora Maar" (1938) by Pablo Picasso and the walls of his room are covered with famous paintings from the history of art.
Have fun finding the names of the artists and paintings present in the film.
Behind the scenes of creation, why not suggest that the children paint using the dripping technique?

Questioning the film: Dripped

Understand the story, the theme, express their sensibility and exercise their critical thinking skills.

A very amusing tribute to the painter Jackson Pollock, his artistic research and the dripping technique, an artistic technique which consists of letting a liquid fall drop by drop and superimposing the colours.
In search of inspiration, Jack, the hero of the film, literally eats paintings; he steals masterpieces from prestigious museums and swallows them to become one with them. Starving and dissatisfied with his work as an artist, he violently throws his paint onto the canvas and invents a new pictorial genre: dripping.

Jackson Pollock is one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism, which brought together poets, painters and musicians in New York in the early 1950s.
With more than 700 works and the use of techniques such as dripping and all-over, Jackson Pollock had a decisive influence on the development of contemporary art.

1 Why does the main character eat paintings?
Because he is an artist in need of inspiration. he swallows masterpieces to become one with them.
2 How does the main character invent a new artistic technique?
Hungry and dissatisfied with his work as an artist, he violently sprays paint onto the canvas.
3 Do you recognise any of the paintings that appear in the films?
For example, Vincent Van Gogh's "Landscape with Cypresses and Flowering Trees" (1889) or his "Self-Portrait" (1889).
"Arearea" (Joyeusetés) (1892) by Paul Gaugin during his trip to Tahiti.
Where is the Duke of Urbino? (1465) by Piero della Francesca.
"The Desperate" (1845), a self-portrait by Gustave Courbet.
"Geopolitical Child Observing the Birth of the New Man" (1943) a surrealist work by Salvador Dalì ?
"Summer" (1563) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo ?
Part of the painting "The Three Ages of Women" (1905) by Gustav Klimt ?
Jackson Pollok ?

Download PDF of the film's educational activities

Created with the support of the Ministry of Education and the CNC.
Viewing of the film with the family, educational activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.
Experimenting with the dripping technique (Plastic arts) (Cycle 2 and 3)
Educational activities proposed by Christophe Defaye based on the film Dripped.
What if I ate a painting? (French) (Cycle 2 and 3)
Educational activities proposedby Pascale Bani from the blog En classe Pascale based on the film Dripped.

Discover other educational sheets created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC...