New Comic Explores CIA's Secret Manipulation of Jackson Pollock's Career

A new graphic novel, "Pollock Confidential" by Onofrio Catacchio (Bari, 1964), published by Centauria, investigates the hidden political entanglement between Jackson Pollock and the CIA during the Cold War. The book reveals how the CIA, founded after WWII, used abstract expressionists like Pollock as cultural weapons to counter Soviet influence. The agency's "Long Leash" program, devised by Tom Braden, promoted American artistic freedom to attract international intellectuals, contrasting with Stalin's imposition of socialist realism. Pollock, born in Cody, Wyoming—the same town as Buffalo Bill—was seen as a true American cowboy, making him the ideal symbol. The CIA funded exhibitions, magazines, and cultural organizations to spread Pollock's work globally. Other artists like Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko were also involved, but Pollock was the favorite due to his all-American image. The narrative follows fictional CIA agent Dan Adkins, named after a 1960s-70s illustrator, who shadows Pollock. Catacchio, who also drew and colored the book, worked on large images to avoid confining Pollock in small panels. The 128-page volume costs €19.90.