Do events in society affect artists in such a way that it is clearly reflected in their work, or is their work completely individual? In my project I look at the Abstract Expressionist movement, in particular Jackson Pollock. My main focus is the effect WW2 had on Artists in America and how Abstract Expressionism emerged as a result of it. I look into the government funding behind the movement and the postwar mood of society. Jackson Pollock is an interesting focus point because not only was he an alcoholic who suffered from depression but his art works, particularly his drip‐paintings, were extremely emotional and well documented. I centre my attention on the drip‐painting era because they demonstrate his connection with his art, his technique was controversial and the result seemed thoughtless and chaotic to some critics. To establish what is to be considered aesthetically pleasing, I will be looking at Kant, this covers how we perceive things as human beings and how our desires and preferences affect what we consider to be beautiful. To explore this idea I am going to focus on Kant’s concept of beauty, where he believes what we perceive as beauty, can be nothing other than subjective because it is the individual’s taste. In essence my project analyses art aesthetically, from both the artist and the people’s point of view. The influences surrounding artists at the time shows how art can be an inevitable result of mass emotion and therefore its popularity does not relate to how aesthetically pleasing it is.