How to Enjoy Abstract Art

A conversation with painter Steve Erickson about the wonder that is Jackson Pollock's “Mural,” its rescue from floodwaters, and its rebirth after conservation.

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956) Mural, 1943. Oil and casein on canvas. Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959.6. Reproduced with permission from the University of Iowa.

By Michael Judge

Iowa City, Iowa — It seems a lifetime ago, but in the summer of 2008—five months before Barack Obama won his first presidential election, and just a year after the first iPhone was released—a “500-year flood” devastated much of this Midwestern college town, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the campus of the University of Iowa, and more than $10 billion in damage statewide. It’s not surprising then, that some elected officials and university employees in the state were talking about selling what was by far the UI’s most valuable possession: Jackson Pollock’s early masterpiece, Mural (1943), valued at up to $150 million. Fortunately, the UI held onto the Pollock.

As Pamela White, interim director of the museum at the time of the flood, explained, Mural was one of the first of the museum’s …