5+1 questions for … Jana Sgibnev and Eugenia Sinatti about the bauhaus infinity archive
Only few objects of the Bauhaus-Archiv collection have been exhibited so far – but numerous digital images of them exist. In collaboration with the Berlin-based design agency ART+COM Studios, the Bauhaus-Archiv team developed the immersive installation bauhaus infinity archive which can be visited since January 2022 at the temporary bauhaus-archiv. Let’s pose 5+1 questions to project manager Jana Sgibnev and software developer Eugenia Sinatti from ART+COM Studios.
Eugenia, Jana, the bauhaus infinity archive runs on software called “Image Garden”. What is that?
Image Garden is a toolbox based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) which can be used to curate large collections of digital images. The program sorts the images based on their visual similarity, for example, all portraits are stored in one area and all pictures of similar looking chairs can be found in another. With the aid of Image Garden, you can search the collection for images based on a certain colour or by sketching a line. It then pulls up all the pictures that contain this colour, line or segment of a line.
Image Garden also takes us a step closer to “smart exhibitions” or “smart exhibits”. By this, we mean individualised access to an exhibition or an exhibit. It replaces tours, in that it emphasises content which is personally interesting to the visitor.
What exactly happens in the background of the bauhaus infinity archive?
The images are initially vectorised using a convolutional neural network, i.e. translated into sequenced group of numbers – a so-called vector. After the images are vectorised, an algorithm called UMAP processes the dataset. This ensures that each vector, and with it, each picture is assigned a position in three-dimensional space. The result is a spatial depiction of the images, arranged in visually similar groups which the visitors can experience live in the bauhaus infinity archive.
Sounds complicated and rather advanced! What are the benefits and limitations of Artificial Intelligence in the museum sector?
The added value lies in the speed at which one can gain an overview of the entire collection. This offers an advantage to knowledge workers, like curators, because using visual – instead of text-based – search methods opens new possibilities when working with a collection. Image Garden can locate previously hidden objects which might have been unfindable due to incorrect or insufficiently assigned metadata in the database.
You do reach limits quickly with the datasets, however, especially with high-resolution images. To be able to work with AI, you need a very high-speed computer with the corresponding processing power. What’s more, AI follows a logic that requires a good deal of manual preparation to produce optimal results. We initially got bogged down by the numerous duplicates in the Bauhaus-Archiv dataset that were not clearly visible in the database. We had to go through the images one by one to find them. We were also plagued by the coloured strips on many of the pictures, which are used for printing alignment. Of course, the AI can’t tell whether these coloured strips are part of the artwork or something else.
Will this “curating machine” be able to carry out museum functions in the future which are currently performed by humans, e.g. museologists, archivists, curators?
Human thought is still difficult to reproduce. But the “curating machine” could certainly be helpful in the curating process, especially for sorting large sets of images. Image Garden would offer archivists, curators and museologists a different way to access the collection so that they could see beyond the highlights that are always in demand. It’s possible to peer into the furthest corner of the archive from your desk – but only if it’s digitalised, of course! Curating is a complex matter that goes far beyond locating visual or statistical similarities. AI can only analyse things that are contained in the metadata or are findable via algorithm. Over time, AI-curated exhibitions would get very boring.
What especially surprised you while working with the collection of the Bauhaus-Archiv?
Eugenia: The unexpected number of photos depicting everyday situations of people who had devoted themselves to the Bauhaus movement.
Jana: Pictures of the families of the Bauhaus members. And how much fun people at the Bauhaus had, all the crazy costumes and poses. The joy contained in some of those photos is simply contagious!
The Bauhaus-Archiv owns the world’s largest Bauhaus collection. We’ve chosen a photo from the collection and now I ask you to give it your best shot and tell me what you think!
Jana: I imagine how someone cut out each of these little pictures with nail scissors and pasted them on. Between them, you can come up with all sorts of ideas about composition. A meditative process.
Eugenia: For me, the picture shows the connection between people and architecture, and the varying depths at which one can reflect on these.
ART+COM Studios in Berlin and Cologne designs and develops analogue and digital installations, objects and spaces with new media, including the bauhaus infinity archive in collaboration with the Bauhaus-Archiv. Jana Sgibnev oversees the management of the project at ART+COM Studios, while her colleague Eugenia Sinatti, a software developer, is responsible for the technical implementation.
Find more information about the bauhaus infinity archive here.