Computer algorithm can accurately identify Jackson Pollock paintings

Science Focus

original post »

Like his work or hate it, it's clear that the painter Jackson Pollock pioneered a distinctive visual style with his drip paintings. If you admire his work (which I do), then you probably admire his distinctive visual flair. If you don't (heathen!), then you probably think that any old schmuck could produce an equivalent work simply by grabbing a paintbrush and having a seizure.

I am now fortunate enough to be able to argue for my perspective with math on my side. Lior Shamir, a computer scientist at Lawrence Technological University, has taken a series of image analysis algorithms and shown that they can discriminate between real Pollocks and pieces painted in an attempt to mimic his style.

This isn't the first time that computer science has intruded into the world of fine art. In several cases in the past, it has done so via the art community's invitation, as scientific analysis can help determine whether a suspicious work is likely to be genuine or not. Since Pollock painted very recently, however, it's relatively easy for a forger to match his materials. Whether they match his style or not is debatable given the disagreements noted above about whether there's a distinctive style involved at all.

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

 
#science 
 » see original post http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/-GLLzLBwQXA/
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'