Adrienne Casciato Composition 20 March 2002 Creating a Masterpiece           Since the beginning of time man has used art as a means of expression.  Jackson Pollock and Alexander Calder, two 20th century artists, are no strangers to that aspect.  Each artist individually made significant contributions to the art world.  Even though most would regard their works, Autumn Rhythm and Untitled, as totally separate genres of art, they possess a few shared traits, all the while retaining their individuality and uniqueness.            Pollock and Calder created unique and expressive forms of artwork.  Pollock invented a technique called "Action Painting," and Calder was the first to establish mobiles as works of art.  Both artists loved creating large pieces.  Autumn Rhythm measures over 8' by 17'.  Calder's Untitled is 29' by 76'.  Pollock and Calder were concerned with the movement of their pieces.  Pollock "danced" as he worked, allowing Autumn Rhythm to have free flow of lines and patterns.  Calder himself did not move, but his work does.  Untitled, a mobile, dances in the air as it hangs from the ceiling.           Autumn Rhythm is painted on canvas.  Pollock used oil paint and watered it down, so it could easily be dripped from a brush.  This caused his painting to look like a swarm of splotches and drips.  Calder's work, on the other hand, is very neat and clean.  Using aluminum and special metal paint, he assembled a work composed of rounded triangles hung neatly from a single wire.  Each triangle has its own space, and there is no confusion about its design.  When viewed, Calder's work is uniform- -everything in order.           As with most paintings on canvas, Pollock's piece is viewed on the wall of a gallery.  People are forced to look at the front of the canvas only, viewing it in one dimension.  Calder's work is freestanding.  It is meant to be looked at from every angle.  You can walk around it and see the front, back and sides, and even through the spaces in between the piece.            The different use of color by the two artists evokes diverse moods and feelings about the pieces.  Autumn Rhythm is painted in dull colors; black, white, grey, and a few shades of brown.  These colors emphasize the somber tone of the work and symbolize a feeling of sadness and depression.  Calder chose to paint Untitled orange and blue.  Because they are complimentary colors, meaning they are directly across from each other on the color wheel, orange and blue together play off each other and grab the attention of the viewer.  By using dark, monochromatic colors, Autumn Rhythm evokes a sad disposition whereas Calder's work uplifts a viewer at the sight of the bright orange and blue.           Even though these pieces are unalike, they allow the artists to accomplish one thing: self-expression.  It does not matter what materials they used, what color they turned out, or where they are displayed for that matter.  What matters is in the end they created masterpieces as unique as themselves.