In Between Portraits: Institutional Archives and the Artist’s Voice

Authors

Magdalena Navracruz (The New School), Thiago G. Hersan (The New School)

Presentation

Session

VISAP Paper 2

Time

Wednesday, Nov 11, 10:24 – 10:36 (US/Eastern) · session 10:00 – 11:30

Location

Hall Essex south

Keywords

Network visualization, text embedding, clustering, art, archiving

Abstract

This research investigates how machine learning and data visualization can reveal the multiple and sometimes divergent ways artistic identity is constructed across descriptions of artworks. Drawing on texts authored by artists, curators, and cataloguers, the project treats identity not as a fixed or singular attribute, but as a mutable and relational concept that emerges through interactions among different sources and perspectives. Through embedding-based analysis and interactive network visualization, the proposed methodology maps relationships between these textual descriptions, making visible patterns of convergence, divergence, and distance across forms of authorship. The resulting visualizations reveal how institutional and self-authored texts can construct distinct representations of artistic identity, while demonstrating how computational systems can make these differences legible as structured relationships rather than isolated or anecdotal contradictions.