GUTAI DICTIONARY
Back to IndexJackson Pollock
Pollock invented a method of creating paintings called "dripping" and became a hero of postwar American painting, one of the leading figures of 20th century art. Jiro Yoshihara was one of the first in Japan to pay attention to Pollock, and was one of the few people who kept abreast of the world art scene in real time. He thought of a strategy with a global perspective, creating a bulletin introducing the group's activities and works and sending it around the world in order to make Gutai known worldwide. Shozo Shimamoto, a member of Gutai who was in charge of printing and distributing the bulletin at the time, sent the second and third issues of the bulletin along with a letter to Pollock. It is not clear whether Pollock saw them or not, but Bob Friedman, a critic who was organizing Pollock's studio after his death, found them and showed them to Ray Johnson, an artist in Fluxus. Seeing the address on the bulletin, Ray Johnson sent a letter to Jiro Yoshihara, which was published in Gutai No. 6. The Gutai bulletin and one letter were the beginning of a new exchange.