Tracing Paint: Pollock-Krasner Studio


VR Review  ★★★★☆‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
PCVR  Quest  Art  Museums  Comfortable  Roomscale  Stationary 

The image shows an interior view of a rustic wooden studio with a high ceiling and exposed beams. In the center, there is a large black screen with the words “TRACING PAINT” in white bold letters. Below this main text, it reads “The Pollock-Krasner Studio in Virtual Reality” in smaller white text. The floor is covered with splattered paint, indicative of an artist’s workspace, and there are paint cans and open paint containers scattered on the floor to the left side of the room.

Tracing Paint is a great way to learn about the modern artistry of husband and wife Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, presented from within a virtual recreation of their Long Island studio barn.

This 20 minute production begins with a brief slideshow before materializing you inside the barn as it looked in the 1940s, complete with paint splatters on the floor where Jackson Pollock had overshot his canvas. In fact this is how his paintings are presented for viewing within the app - on the floor where they were created. An English language narration is present throughout, connecting sections of introduction and interpretation with original audio excerpts from art critics. The narration is underscored with light jazz music.

Eventually the barn transforms into its second iteration, now with white walls, heating and lighting that allow Jackson Pollock to work at any time of day and throughout the winter months. Following Pollock's 1956 death, his wife Lee Krasner relocates her own art studio from the house to this barn, and is from here that she paints most of her future works.

The image shows a wooden room with walls made of horizontal wooden planks. The floor is covered in splatters of paint in various colors, indicating that the space is likely used for painting activities. In the center, there is a large, heavily paint-stained cloth or tarp spread out on the floor. To the right side of the room, there are shelves with several paint cans and containers, some open and some closed. The scene is interesting due to the extensive amount of paint splatters, suggesting a long period of use for artistic purposes which gives it a vibrant and chaotic appearance.
Pollock's Number 3 from 1950.

The decision to limit the program to six paintings - three from each artist - works well enough to present the viewer with an outline understanding of their works, but folk will have to look elsewhere to see more paintings. That is also true about their marital relationship - how Krasner's background in art techniques was to heavily support Pollock's artistic progression, and how Pollock's alcoholism eventually cost him his life and that of a friend. You'll have to read up on that somewhere else.

Tracing Paint provides an excellent introduction to these artists' works, and grounding them in the Long Island studio barn is a great choice. The app also does a good job of allowing freedom of movement to inspect every corner of the studio, though with prompts to teleport to a specific area when another painting is introduced. Regrettably the graphics resolution isn't adequate to appreciate the paintings up close, but it could be argued that's barely the point with this modern art.

The image shows an abstract painting titled “Gaea, 1984.” The painting features dynamic swirls of red, white, and black colors, creating an energetic and chaotic composition. Next to the painting, there’s a trolley with various art supplies, suggesting this could be an artist’s studio or a space where art is actively created or displayed.
Krasner's Gaea (1966), positioned where it was painted.

Summary:
Great introduction to Pollock's and Krasner's work
Basing the experience in the studio barn is an excellent choice
Focuses on only a few works, but leaves you wanting more

Supported Languages:
Cantonese  English  Mandarin 

External Links:
Official Audio Tour

Product Links:

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© 2024 Copyright Stuart Green all rights reserved. Content provided without warranty of accuracy. Reproduction requires explicit consent. Some copyrighted images used under fair use doctrine for review purposes.