The VR demonstrator: a novel approach to reconstruct Mondrian’s Salon
We presented the first reconstruction of Madam B’s Salon in a Virtual Reality environment and experimentally recorded what regions inside of the Salon preferentially captured observers’ attention (see figure). This demonstrator was launched at VSS 2018, the leading international conference on visual science. The VR model allowed visitors to move freely in the room and contemplate their perceptual experience. The most important aspect of this work was the use of a retrofitted version of the HTC Vive headset which incorporates an eye-tracker system (Tobii Pro VR Integration), allowing the experimenter to interrogate effects of body, head and eye movements during the interaction between the visitor and the Salon. For the VR environment, we also corrected some details from Mondrian’s original design, in order to account for properties of the physical space of Ida Bienert’s home in Dresden that had previously been overlooked.
A second, revised version of Mondrian’s Salon in VR was presented during the exhibition ‘Un Mare di Illusioni’ at the European Conference on Vision Perception (ECVP 2018) to an audience of scientists from about 30 countries. Mondrian’s Salon was visited by approximately 100 visitors – mostly, but not exclusively, scientists. Many reported that oblique lines and non-orthogonal intersections become immediately (and dynamically) visible when moving in the room and changing point of view. There was also unexpected interplay of Mondrian design with simulated sunlight entering the room through the windows in an orientation that is not parallel to the rectangular colour grids on floor and walls. Some visitors also focused more on the furniture in Mondrian’s Salon that pop out from the background as three-dimensional objects in the VR salon, rather than appearing flat and static as in Mondrian’s drawings.
