Isle of the Dead Art Experience
• 3-star rating
• PCVR
• Art
• Comfortable, Stationary
Isle of the Dead is a 360 degree stereo movie that reveals and introduces Arnold Böcklin's 1883 painting of the same name. Accompanying this computer graphic recreation and extension of the original work is a piece of music by Sergei Rachmaninoff that was inspired by the same painting.
This is a non-interactive experience that begins within a modest apartment setting before walls fall away, buildings crumble and sink into water and a boat ferries us towards the island. A brief but well-voiced narration provides some brief context to the painting. As a graphical recreation the three dimensional model of the painting is fairly accurate, though we were disappointed that the surface textures used were not more faithful to the oil paints of the original.
Though Rachmaninoff's The Isle of the Dead musical piece is 22 minutes long the run time of this VR video is much shorter at around 8 minutes in length.
Some may also be concerned that virtual reality exhibits like this distort the original intent of an artwork, but we have to admit that we enjoy them. Particularly when they introduce art to new audiences and give viewers an immediate experience with a painting that may be lacking in a gallery setting. You can find others like this to explore in our art category.
The experience begins in a modest setting.
New scenes on the journey to the isle.
✅ Imaginative yet respectful extrapolation on the original
✅ Using Rachmaninof's inspired piece is a great accompaniment
❌ Visual textures are harsh compared with the original
❌ Short experience
• Wikipedia: Böcklin's Isle of the Dead
• Languages: English, French, German
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