Surprise Machines is a project of experimental museology that sets out to visualize the entire image collection of the Harvard Art Museums, intending to open up unexpected vistas on more than 200,000 objects usually inaccessible to visitors. Part of the exhibition Curatorial A(i)gents organized by metaLAB (at) Harvard, the project explores the limits of artificial intelligence to display a large set of images and create surprise among visitors. To achieve such a feeling of surprise, a choreographic interface was designed to connect the audience's movement with several unique views of the collection.

As cultural institutions are digitizing their artifacts and interlinking their collections, new opportunities emerge to engage with cultural heritage. However, it is the often comprehensive and complex nature of collections that can make it difficult to grasp their distribution and extent across a variety of dimensions. After a brief introduction to the research area of collection visualizations, this paper presents a design study visualizing an aggregated collection from diverse cultural institutions in Germany. We detail our iterative design process leading to prototypical implementations of four stylistically and functionally coordinated visualizations, each one focusing on different facets of the collection.

In den letzten Jahren hat sich ein Forschungsfeld im Bereich von Visualisierungen kultureller Sammlungen etabliert, welche die kulturhistorischen Artefakte und Facetten von Sammlungen in Form visueller Interfaces sichtbar und erfahrbar machen (Windhager et al. 2018). Ein Großteil dieser Arbeiten widmet sich einzelnen Sammlungen, die jeweils einer spezifischen Systematik folgen und eine geringe Vielfalt an Objektgattungen und Attributen aufweisen (z.B. Glinka et al. 2017, Gortana et al. 2018). Das hier vorgestellte Forschungsprojekt widmete sich der Frage, wie mehrere Sammlungen visuell in Bezug gesetzt und auf zugängliche Weise exploriert werden können. In enger Zusammenarbeit mit Sammlungsexpert*innen sollten konkrete Ansätze zur visuellen und assoziativen Exploration von zwei unterschiedlichen Sammlungen der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (SMB) entwickelt werden. Entstanden ist ein funktionaler Prototyp, der auf konzeptionellen Ambitionen wie denen des digitalen Flanierens (Dörk et al., 2011) und der glücklichen Entdeckungen (Thudt et al., 2012) in großzügigen (Whitelaw, 2015) und explorativen Interfaces (Kreiseler et al., 2017) aufbaut und die tradierten Anordnungen objektbezogener und suchbasierter Museumswebseiten aufbricht. Diese Formen der gezielten Informationssuche erfordern ein konkretes Interesse der Suchenden und werden den heterogenen und umfangreichen Beständen musealer Sammlungen nur bedingt gerecht, wenn es um ein assoziatives, Interessen-getriebenes Durchstöbern von Sammlungen und Beständen geht. Aus der Vielzahl der Bestände und Sammlungen der SMB wurden auf Grundlage verschiedener Aspekte, wie beispielsweise dem Umfang der erfassten Objekte, der Erschließungstiefe der Objektdaten und nicht zuletzt der thematischen Heterogenität, die Bestände der Alten Nationalgalerie sowie des Museums Europäischer Kulturen aus dem 19. Jahrhundert ausgewählt. Während die Sammlung der Alten Nationalgalerie eine der umfangreichsten Epochensammlungen für die Kunst des 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhunderts ist, findet sich im Museum Europäischer Kulturen eine der größten Sammlungen zur Alltagskultur und Populärkunst in Europa. Die Kontraste und Gegensätze, aber auch die Gemeinsamkeiten beider Bestände sollten im Rahmen des Projekts erforscht und erfahrbar gemacht werden.

Abstract Surprise Machines is a project of experimental museology that sets out to visualize the entire image collection of the Harvard Art Museums, with a view to opening up unexpected vistas on more than 200,000 objects usually inaccessible to visitors. The project is part of the exhibition organized by metaLAB (at) Harvard entitled Curatorial A(i)gents and explores the limits of artificial intelligence to display a large set of images and create surprise among visitors. To achieve this feeling of surprise, a choreographic interface was designed to connect the audience’s movement with several unique views of the collection.

February 01 2020 IEEE VIS 2016 and 2017 Arts Program Gallery Benedikt Groß, Benedikt Groß Web: https://lab.moovel.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Raphael Reimann, Raphael Reimann Web: https://lab.moovel.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Philipp Schmitt, Philipp Schmitt Web: https://lab.moovel.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Esteban Garcia Bravo, Esteban Garcia Bravo Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Maxwell Carlson, Maxwell Carlson Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Aaron Zernack, Aaron Zernack Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Jorge Garcia, Jorge Garcia Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Yoon Chung Han, Yoon Chung Han Web: www.yoonchunghan.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Shankar Tiwari, Shankar Tiwari Web: www.yoonchunghan.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Till Nagel, Till Nagel Web: https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/cf Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Christopher Pietsch, Christopher Pietsch Web: https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/cf Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mark J. Stock, Mark J. Stock Web: www.markjstock.org Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Weili Shi, Weili Shi Web: www.shi-weili.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Jessica Parris Westbrook, Jessica Parris Westbrook Web: www.onchanneltwo.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Adam Trowbridge, Adam Trowbridge Web: www.onchanneltwo.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mike Richison, Mike Richison Web: www.mikerichison.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mitch Goodwin, Mitch Goodwin Web: www.mitchgoodwin.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Clement Fay, Clement Fay Web: www.mitchgoodwin.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Sebastian Lay, Sebastian Lay Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Jo Vermeulen, Jo Vermeulen Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Charles Perin, Charles Perin Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Eric Donovan, Eric Donovan Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Raimund Dachselt, Raimund Dachselt Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Sheelagh Carpendale, Sheelagh Carpendale Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paul Heinicker, Paul Heinicker Web: www.passim.paulheinicker.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Dietmar Offenhuber, Dietmar Offenhuber Web: www.offenhuber.net Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Duncan Clark, Duncan Clark Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Robin Houston, Robin Houston Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Tristan Smith, Tristan Smith Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Adriene Jenik, Adriene Jenik Web: http://ajenik.faculty.asu.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Clarissa Ribeiro, Clarissa Ribeiro Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mick Lorusso, Mick Lorusso Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Herbert Rocha, Herbert Rocha Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Wonyoung So, Wonyoung So Web: http://wonyoung.so Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mauro Martino, Mauro Martino www.formafluens.io Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Hendrik Strobelt, Hendrik Strobelt www.formafluens.io Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Owen Cornec, Owen Cornec www.formafluens.io Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Scottie Chih-Chieh Huang, Scottie Chih-Chieh Huang Web: www.scottiehuang.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Yu-Chun Huang, Yu-Chun Huang Web: www.scottiehuang.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Inhye Lee, Inhye Lee Web: www.inhyelee.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Hyomin Kim, Hyomin Kim Web: www.inhyelee.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Pierre Amelot, Pierre Amelot Web: www.vijks.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar John Hwong, John Hwong Web: www.vijks.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Kate McManus, Kate McManus Web: www.vijks.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Ryan McGee, Ryan McGee Web: www.lifeorange.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mary Bates Neubauer Mary Bates Neubauer Web: www.marybatesneubauer.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Benedikt Groß Web: https://lab.moovel.com Raphael Reimann Web: https://lab.moovel.com Philipp Schmitt Web: https://lab.moovel.com Esteban Garcia Bravo Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Maxwell Carlson Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Aaron Zernack Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Jorge Garcia Web: www.carlsongarcia.com Yoon Chung Han Web: www.yoonchunghan.com Shankar Tiwari Web: www.yoonchunghan.com Till Nagel Web: https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/cf Christopher Pietsch Web: https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/cf Mark J. Stock Web: www.markjstock.org Weili Shi Web: www.shi-weili.com Jessica Parris Westbrook Web: www.onchanneltwo.com Adam Trowbridge Web: www.onchanneltwo.com Mike Richison Web: www.mikerichison.com Mitch Goodwin Web: www.mitchgoodwin.com Clement Fay Web: www.mitchgoodwin.com Sebastian Lay Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Jo Vermeulen Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Charles Perin Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Eric Donovan Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Raimund Dachselt Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Sheelagh Carpendale Web: www.innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca Paul Heinicker Web: www.passim.paulheinicker.com Dietmar Offenhuber Web: www.offenhuber.net Duncan Clark Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Robin Houston Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Tristan Smith Web: www.kiln.digital/projects/shipmap Adriene Jenik Web: http://ajenik.faculty.asu.edu Clarissa Ribeiro Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Mick Lorusso Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Herbert Rocha Web: www.clarissaribeiro.com Wonyoung So Web: http://wonyoung.so Mauro Martino www.formafluens.io Hendrik Strobelt www.formafluens.io Owen Cornec www.formafluens.io Scottie Chih-Chieh Huang Web: www.scottiehuang.com Yu-Chun Huang Web: www.scottiehuang.com Inhye Lee Web: www.inhyelee.com Hyomin Kim Web: www.inhyelee.com Pierre Amelot Web: www.vijks.com John Hwong Web: www.vijks.com Kate McManus Web: www.vijks.com Ryan McGee Web: www.lifeorange.com Mary Bates Neubauer Web: www.marybatesneubauer.com Online Issn: 1530-9282 Print Issn: 0024-094X ©2020 ISAST2020ISAST Leonardo (2020) 53 (1): 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_01837 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Benedikt Groß, Raphael Reimann, Philipp Schmitt, Esteban Garcia Bravo, Maxwell Carlson, Aaron Zernack, Jorge Garcia, Yoon Chung Han, Shankar Tiwari, Till Nagel, Christopher Pietsch, Mark J. Stock, Weili Shi, Jessica Parris Westbrook, Adam Trowbridge, Mike Richison, Mitch Goodwin, Clement Fay, Sebastian Lay, Jo Vermeulen, Charles Perin, Eric Donovan, Raimund Dachselt, Sheelagh Carpendale, Paul Heinicker, Dietmar Offenhuber, Duncan Clark, Robin Houston, Tristan Smith, Adriene Jenik, Clarissa Ribeiro, Mick Lorusso, Herbert Rocha, Wonyoung So, Mauro Martino, Hendrik Strobelt, Owen Cornec, Scottie Chih-Chieh Huang, Yu-Chun Huang, Inhye Lee, Hyomin Kim, Pierre Amelot, John Hwong, Kate McManus, Ryan McGee, Mary Bates Neubauer; IEEE VIS 2016 and 2017 Arts Program Gallery. Leonardo 2020; 53 (1): 6–24. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_01837 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsLeonardo Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. ©2020 ISAST2020ISAST Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

As cultural institutions are digitizing their artifacts and interlinking their collections, new opportunities emerge to engage with cultural heritage. However, it is the often comprehensive and complex nature of collections that can make it difficult to grasp their distribution and extent across a variety of dimensions. After a brief introduction to the research area of collection visualizations, this paper presents a design study visualizing an aggregated collection from diverse cultural institutions in Germany. We detail our iterative design process leading to prototypical implementations of four stylistically and functionally coordinated visualizations, each one focusing on different facets of the collection.

As cultural institutions are digitizing their artifacts and interlinking their collections, new opportunities emerge to engage with cultural heritage. However, it is the often comprehensive and complex nature of collections that can make it difficult to grasp their distribution and extent across a variety of dimensions. After a brief introduction to the research area of collection visualizations, this paper presents a design study visualizing an aggregated collection from diverse cultural institutions in Germany. We detail our iterative design process leading to prototypical implementations of four stylistically and functionally coordinated visualizations, each one focusing on different facets of the collection.

We present a case study on visualizing a collection of historic drawings along its metadata structure while also allowing for close examination of the artifacts' texture. With regards to the specific character of cultural heritage at the intersection of research, education, and public interest, the presented visualization environment aims at meeting the requirements of both researchers as well as a broader public. We present the results from a collaborative interdisciplinary research project that involved a cultural heritage foundation, art historians, designers, and computer scientists. The case study examines the potential of visualization when applied to, and developed for, cultural heritage collections. It specifically explores how techniques aimed at visualizing the quantitative structure of a collection can be coupled with a more qualitative mode that allows for detailed examination of the artifacts and their contexts by displaying high-resolution views of digitized cultural objects with detailed art historical research findings. Making use of latest web technologies, the resulting visualization environment allows for dynamic filtering and zooming of a collection of visual resources that are arranged along a contextualized timeline. We share insights from our collaborative design process and the feedback and usage data gathered during the deployment of the resulting prototype as a web application. We end with a discussion of transferability of carefully crafted and collaboratively negotiated visualizations of cultural heritage and raise questions concerning the applicability of our approach to related strands of humanities research.

In this article we present a case study on digital representation of the art historical research and metadata brought together for a scientific collection catalogue by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. The resulting interface aims at linking the structure and texture of a collection of drawings by Frederick William IV of Prussia (1795–1861) with additional contextual information. The article describes the context of the larger research project and presents the resulting visualization and interaction techniques specifically designed for dynamic exploration along time and subjects.

In this article we present a case study on digital representation of the art historical research and metadata brought together for a scientific collection catalogue by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. The resulting interface aims at linking the structure and texture of a collection of drawings by Frederick William IV of Prussia (1795–1861) with additional contextual information. The article describes the context of the larger research project and presents the resulting visualization and interaction techniques specifically designed for dynamic exploration along time and subjects.