The Museum of Art and Photography has collaborated with Microsoft to launch an AI-powered, interactive digital platform that guides viewers through textile history across regions and eras.
The Museum of Art and Photography has collaborated with Microsoft to launch an AI-powered, interactive digital platform that guides viewers through textile history across regions and eras.
a farsi Kalamkari This is my starting point for a wall hanging of the late 17th or early 18th century. A closer look at the cloth reveals that a royal figure is seated in a mandapa surrounded by crocodiles and next to it is an elephant-like figure, with seven disciples standing in courtly attire. The scene is probably set in a garden. Pride Kalamkari Techniques of hand painting and block printing that involve resist dyeing, the fabric is a welcome mix of red, maroon and indigo, underlined with black.
A click away, connected to the east by an artery, is a carpet adorned with floral motifs that probably originated in Armenia or Dagestan between 1750 and 1850. A rich textile history reveals itself on screen, with the help of more informative artefacts. Thanks to Microsoft-powered AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning, Interwoven, a vast collection of South Asian textiles that the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) prides itself on, has just become globally accessible.
Shikargarh Brocade Skirt; Stranger; 20th century | photo credit: special arrangement
The platform, which is fairly easy to navigate, has filters to detect connectors and differentiators between each piece of textile: patterns and motifs, geographies and cultures, date and era, and so on. A custom journey is also drawn up on choosing a piece of art.
Work on the still growing collection of MAP has been going on for a year and a half. “We chose textiles because it highlights all these connections between regions and cultures. Take South Asian textiles for example: Our artisans have mastered some of the most complex weaving techniques and produced exquisite textiles that passed over the ocean thanks to the strong trade links that existed. We have been in the world market for centuries,” says Kamini Sahni, Director, MAP. Although the Interwoven Museum’s collection draws on a strong textile base, it also includes artifacts from institutions around the world such as the V&A (London), MET (New York), Rietberg (Zurich), and the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada). ,
second name
AI as a technology is clearly being adopted in many domains and sectors, Rohini Shreevats, National Technology Officer at Microsoft India, quipped. AI for Good is a Microsoft initiative that, over the next five years, will show a significant commitment to using technology to address some of the challenges and opportunities in the world. “AI for Cultural Heritage is one of five such programs. And this collaboration is a marriage made in heaven,” she adds.
Morkuti Pichwai; Stranger; Beginning of 20th century | photo credit: special arrangement
“The thinking behind the experience when you visit the site, in terms of how people travel, comes from MAP Academy. Behind the scenes, there is quite a bit of technology that comes into play – AI text analytics, cognitive search, custom vision, computers The vision… there’s a tremendous amount of data tagging and training model development happening in the background. But once you’ve built that up, the machine learning and AI engine is able to spot some interesting connections between MAP and partner museums These are connections that the human eye might not even be able to see,” Rohini says. “It opens up the capabilities to create a very personal experience,” she adds. When in the hands of domain experts and experts. Technology plays the role of a multiplier if the right tools are put in place.
Patola Ceremonial Textiles; Stranger; Beginning of 19th century | photo credit: special arrangement
“There are two options for the viewer: Curated Journeys and Customized Journeys. The former is designed by the academic research team at MAP Academy. For this, the AI establishes connections between different cosmic artifacts, and then the team researches and expands on them to create a journey. For example, in leisure and sports, you will see motifs of hunting, reading or playing. a colorful carpet Depicts a hunting scene from the 1940s, taking you to an artwork by the Smithsonian Institute that depicts eagle dancing from the 1830s.” Each time, the adapted tour will be different (for the same audience) Thus, an artist’s perspective will be different from that of a conservationist or a collectors.
second name
Is the criticism of seeing art on the digital space not at its optimum, a challenge to this initiative? Kamini believes that it depends on the taste of the person. “But we always look at this debate as an ‘either/or’. I don’t think one replaces the other. It’s important to see the benefits of digital space and make the best use of it. You get to experience the physical space.” Can’t replicate, but you can create an entirely new one. We see physical and digital space as two parts of one pole.”
While we are realizing how important physical contact is, it is relevant to see how the two mediums build on each other, Rohini says. “If I am sitting in Tier 2 or Tier 3” [city] And I am able to experience it virtually, there is a high tendency that I will travel to see it physically. He is certain that spaces like the Metaverse and tools like Augmented Reality are going to change the way art is consumed.
Interwoven expects one such argument to happen between the two. “An understanding of the past leads you to the future,” says Kamini, “initiating global cultural exchange. Art helps us make sense of the world we live in.”
Visit interwoven.map-india.org to view the collection.