Jackson Pollock and Pick-up

We were having this passionate discussion at 7 Grand last week, my date and I, about our favorite artists. When I told her who I thought was the greatest contemporary artist, she totally understood: Jackson Pollock.

To look at the art of Pollock, you may not understand or appreciate what the fuck he was all about. But the fact is, he not only created a new style of art, but applied something nobody had previously done. Physicality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

The guy stood over his canvas which he laid out on the floor, and splattered, dripped and poured liquid paint over it. Til then, artists used easels and applied the paint with a brush.

Do you get it now?

No? Ok, let me explain. Or better yet, let’s allow Pollock to explain:

“My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”

“When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”

Wow, sound familiar? When I’m in field, I immerse myself in the experience, get out of my head, become totally present with the girl. I am not standing back, looking at things with a distant or objective eye, trying to micromanage my interaction. Pollock’s approach to painting is about the closest correlation you can get between art and being “in state.”

He worked through his entire body to create his art, not just his fingers and wrists. The dribblings you see are a direct manifestation of what he was doing with his entire body when the paint went air-borne. He – his body – went into his art. In a word, he was fully present with his canvas.

I am not a skier or surfer, but I’m told it’s very much the same. You must go with the flow, making small adjustments as needed, but essentially reacting from your core moment by moment.

So, as amazing as this state sounds, lots of guys have trouble getting there in field. I was one of them. My head was wall-to-wall noise, and it took a great deal of work to get to a place of being fully present without all that distracting static. Of course, my mind still wanders, but things are a billion times better now and this is perceptible by women.

The key, besides reading stuff by Tolle and watching the Blueprint, was getting in touch with my body. Which brings me to my main point: get your ass off the sofa and get the fuck in shape.

Women like physically attractive men. We can debate this point til the cows come home, but it’s my experience that all things being equal, most girls would rather fuck a hot dude. Some things you can alter or improve, some you can’t. Build is one thing you can get under control, through diet and going to the gym.

But piling on muscles will only get you so far. I have a really messed up spine, so I’ve always been very conservative with my work-out routine. Though I had nice pecs and gluts, I had the flexibility of a scarecrow. This was evident in the way I walked, the way I moved, and yes the way I fucked.

When a dude moves smoothly at the hips, has great posture, is centered, my theory is women will translate that into how he’ll perform in bed. If he’s rigid and locked up when he walks, he’ll probably be the same way when he’s banging her.

Bottom line, you can’t ignore flexibility. To address this, I got myself into yoga. A couple times a week I took a class, and then did the same routine at home. My chest stretched back, my spine was erect, my hips were less tight.

Still, I felt deficient. There was resistance somewhere. A block. So I kept searching, until I discovered mixed martial arts (MMA).

You can build your body up, you can acquire amazing flexibility, but you still are missing several important ingredients. Guys who practice MMA are centered and grounded. Still, they are loose, letting forces move through their legs and core and out their arms. MMA aims to eliminate any physical resistance to energy, letting everything flow.

And so, we get back to Jackson Pollock. It all comes down to getting rid of all that resistance and simply being present, moving around obstacles like water around rocks, allowing for “pure harmony, an easy give and take.” Both in your head and in your body.