Tender Taxonomies - Workshop & Artist Talk

This event will begin with a short artist talk where Aarati will present in-progress work from her time as a Project Fellow and ground the topic of the workshop in her current creative research. The workshop portion will explore the advantages and limitations of computational (and human) classification of images through participatory and technical exercises. We will discuss how formulating our own taxonomies for personal archives can cultivate new meaning and at the same time how classifications are always approximations and forgetting this can hold us back from noticing the wonderful ways in which archival materials complicate and resist the boxes we place them in. We will walk through a few ways to process/sort photos using facial recognition, Python, and Tensorflow. Participants can bring in their own photographs to work with (recommended to bring in at least 30 images as jpg or png files) or opt to use sample images that will be provided. [We will be using Google Colab and so only internet access, a laptop, and a google account will be needed for technical requirements.]

Zoom link:  https://nyu.zoom.us/j/94174950373

Aarati's Bio
I am a first-generation, Telugu-American, interdisciplinary artist, educator, and programmer interested in the poetics and politics of datasets. I work with both personal and institutional archives to explore how identities and histories are shaped by different methods of collecting, preserving, and presenting data. I combine code, machine learning with analog techniques (photography, printmaking, & embossing). I often use family photographs and archival images as a source material, creating performative rituals of information extraction. My work touches on themes of intergenerational memory, loss, and diaspora. I have been supported by institutions such as Ada X, ETOPIA Center for Art & Technology, and LES Printshop.