Latent Prism



Jane L. Adams

 Room: 103

2023-10-25T23:45:00ZGMT-0600Change your timezone on the schedule page
2023-10-25T23:45:00Z

Exemplar figure, described by caption below — The latent prism is a lucite and mylar sculpture layering samples from an aerial photograph generative machine learning model. The sculpture is a rectangular stack of transparent blocks containing translucent layers of ocean and forest textures in undulating, indeterminate patterns. Coiled beneath the sculpture are 17,000 credits for each image used to train the model, printed onto a long scroll of architectural drafting paper.

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Abstract

Latent Prism is a visually captivating and thought-provoking piece that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and data visualization. It presents a projection of an imagined environment, created through a generative adversarial network (GAN) trained on thousands of aerial photographs from royalty-free stock photo websites. The sculpture takes the form of a polished transparent lucite prism, within which layers of translucent mylar film are suspended. These films display frames extracted from an AI-generated video known as a “latent walk,” showcasing undulating ocean and forest landscapes captured from an aerial perspective. Frames are selected at regular intervals along the linear interpolation of images from the generative model, such that light from below is still able to permeate up to the viewer. The aggregated effect of these layered video frames results in an eerie visual sensation of peering down at a forested landscape that is being submerged in water. Surrounding the prism is a haphazardly piled 120ft. (36.5m)-long roll of credits, listing the names and photographers for every image used to train the model on a 2.5in (6.35cm) wide strip of drafting paper.