Jackson Pollock: Alchemy in 3D

Callieri M., Pingi P., Potenziani M., Dellepiane M., Pavoni G., Lureau A., Scopigno R.

Painting  3D  Interactive kiosk  Multimedia  Temporary exhibition 

For the exhibition "Alchemy of Jackson Pollock. Discovering the Artist at Work" (February - October 2015, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice), the ISTI-CNR Visual Computing Laboratory created an interactive kiosk to explore the geometry of the painting Alchemy by Jackson Pollock. The kiosk created aims to show the technique and secrets of the artist at work, and enriches an innovative and successful exhibition (more than 180,000 visitors in eight months), replicated shortly afterwards in the same form at the Guggenheim Collection Museum in New York, and adapted for the traveling exhibition "The Art of Science" held in 2021 in Mexico and 2022 in Chile). The interactive kiosk, entirely developed by ISTI-CNR Visual Computing Laboratory, allows you to view the high-resolution 3D model of the entire painting through a touch-screen. The visitor can closely observe the geometry and color of the painting, move the light to appreciate its surface, and select the hot-spots that highlight areas of interest. The kiosk was developed with HTML/JavaScript technology, and is based on the HTML5 WebGL API, which makes 2D/3D rendering possible without plug-ins on all major web browsers. The use of web technologies allows installation on a stand-alone machine (as for the exhibition) but at the same time publication on the web. The generation of multiresolution 3D models, and their web visualization, is managed by the Nexus, SpiderGL, and 3DHOP software, developed by ISTI-CNR Visual Computing Laboratory. The multimedia product "Jackson Pollock: Alchemy in 3D" was nominated in the "Best Use of DH For Public Engagement" category at the Digital Humanities 2015 Awards, placing first.