Matter News

In today's Cleveland Plain Dealer, Steven Litt reports that a number of the so-called Matter Pollocks "contain paint ingredients for which there is no known historical record during Pollock's lifetime": "Since 2002, three scientific studies have found that roughly two-thirds of the 32 newly discovered works contain pigments and resins not known to have been marketed or patented until as recently as the late 1980s." In related news, Litt reports that forensic scientist James Martin, who studied a number of the works but has been saying he would not discuss the results unless Matter promised not to sue him, "has agreed to speak publicly about the bulk of his research for the first time" at an IFAR-sponsored symposium entitled "Are they Pollocks? What Science Tells Us About the Matter Paintings," Nov. 28 in New York.