I am no fan of Jackson Pollock. His work has always left me scratching my head (I am more of a Kline/Rothko guy). So I must confess a twisted sort of glee that a site like this exists. And the fact that it exists is one of the things that is so great the internet. If you want to look at digital technology as something that changes the way that we look at and consume culture, this small, simple, site is a great example.
Lets look at Pollock first. When confronted with a Pollock drip painting, a couple of words come to mind: frenetic, energetic, active (or maybe more along the lines of "my kid cold do that"). His canvases tended to be huge. He worked standing up. He used his whole body, he recorded his movements. His works were a visual sign of the performance that was the creation of the piece. They were larger than life because you could bring whatever interpretation to them that you wanted and monumental in their layers upon layers of thick splattered, crusted paint.
Now, what does this website have in common with a Jackson Pollock? You will probably interact with this site sitting down. What you make will be no bigger than the computer screen that you are looking at. Instead of using your whole body, you will use the simple flit of a mouse, or even drag of a finger to spread pixels that have no weight of their own. At the press of the button, you can make the whole thing disappear.
So where is the connection?
Pollock, while not the first or the only artist to take painting into the abstract expressionist realm, has been one of the most controversial. His place in art history is pretty much assured, both as a rogue as well as a trailblazer, but his work still offers a high barrier of entry for the viewer. He transformed the way that we look at paintings, what we thought painting was all about, and that is still uncomfortable.
Digital Media, New Media, is also uncomfortable. It changes the way that we look at, interact with, and view our culture. I don't want to make the claim that the website referenced above yields content of the historical or aesthetic gravitas as a traditional Jackson Pollock painting, but it can change the way that we look at New Media. It can also add a layer of appreciation to traditional mediums. New Media, if it is about anything, is about dialogue and interactivity. If this allows for appreciating Pollock more, and thinking about new ways to create at the same time, what more can you ask?

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