What a Photobook Curated By a Computer Can Teach Us

Increasingly, researchers and artists are tinkering with machine-learning software to explore how neural networks can express creativity, whether through generating contemporary paintings or paint swatch names. Designer Philipp Schmitt decided to program a computer to produce a photobook, a process that involved curation as well as creation. The result, he believes, teaches us how to see our surroundings from a new perspective -- "through the eyes of an algorithm," in his words. Drawn from Schmitt's own archive of 207 photographs taken between 2013 and 2017, "Computed Curation" is a 95-foot-long, accordion photobook that includes captions and tags. But you'll quickly notice that these are often odd strings of companion texts.