Exposition

TroublingGAN: generated visual ambiguity as a speculative alternative to photojournalism (2023)

Lenka Hamosova, Pavol Rusnák
open exposition

About this exposition

This exposition documents artistic research that engages with generative neural networks and artificial intelligence-driven visual synthesis, the goal being to challenge the limits of the research and question the value of the generated visual outcomes. We present here our experiment with a customised StyleGAN model. In contrast to its utilisation by computer scientists, it has been trained on a heterogeneous dataset, voluntarily exposing the generative neural network to failure while focusing on the unexpected moments of surprise that arise from such a process. Led by the critical thoughts of The Nooscope Manifested (Pasquinelli and Joler 2020), this experiment questions what kind of knowledge generative neural networks produce, whether they could change one’s perspective on studied objects (the dataset) and whether they could function as a viable tool for artistic research. The observed object in this project is the concept of ‘troubling times’ (inspired by ‘Designing in Troubling Times’, the theme of the 2021 Uroboros Festival) — rapid socio-ecological changes caused by shifts in global economic, political and technological power and the subsequent series of troubling events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, violent conflicts and environmental catastrophes. StyleGAN is used as a pattern-recognition and knowledge-production tool to create an intuitive understanding of what this ambiguous term ‘troubling times’ actually means today. During the experimentation process, multiple unforeseen moments and twists happened, offering valuable insights into the nature of synthetic media, generating ethical questions concerning the use of generative neural networks and spawning new propositions for further research.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsneural network, styleGAN, synthetic media, photojournalism, troubling times, generative neural networks, GANs, visual ambiguity
date21/12/2023
published21/12/2023
last modified21/12/2023
statuspublished
share statusprivate
affiliationFilm and TV School of Academy of Performing Art in Prague
copyrightLenka Hámošová, Pavol Rusnák
licenseCC BY-NC-ND
languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1486468/1586300
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/jar.1486468
published inJournal for Artistic Research
portal issue31. 31
external linkhttps://troublinggan.hamosova.com


Simple Media

id name copyright license
1486496 TroublingGAN output Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1486528 TroublingGAN Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1486529 TroublingGAN Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1486530 TroublingGAN Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1486531 TroublingGAN Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1488463 Uroboros Festival - Designing in Troubling Times Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1488559 TroublingGAN_training_snapshot Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489028 2021_UROBOROS_logo Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489031 2021_UROBOROS_logo_circle Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489066 SGS_troublinggan_overfitting Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489230 fakes000048 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489231 fakes000056 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489233 fakes000092 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489235 fakes000124 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489240 fakes000164 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489241 fakes000364 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489242 fakes000564 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489244 fakes000664 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1489322 2021_TroublingGAN_walk Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
1586247 Uroboros_TroublingGAN_background_10 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586248 seed0240 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586250 JAR_troublinggan_background_02 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586251 JAR_troublinggan_background_01 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586262 purple_shapes_vertical_down Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586263 purple_shapes_vertical_down_2 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586275 purple_shapes_vertical_down_white Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586282 purple_shapes_vertical_down_white_2 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586301 JAR_troublinggan_background_chapter_2 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586385 JAR_troublinggan_background_chapter_3 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586386 JAR_troublinggan_background_chapter_4 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586387 JAR_troublinggan_background_chapter_5 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586388 JAR_troublinggan_background_chapter_6 Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
1586809 TroublingGAN_reuters_dataset_cropped_video Lenka Hamosova CC BY-NC-ND
2161111 TroublingGAN_1 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161119 TroublingGAN_2 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161129 TroublingGAN_3 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161136 TroublingGAN_4 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161146 TroublingGAN_5 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161149 TroublingGAN_6 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161155 TroublingGAN_7 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2161159 TroublingGAN_8 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162221 TroublingGAN_seed0121 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162232 Uroboros Festival 2021 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162246 Troubling_stories_collage_01 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162249 Troubling_stories_collage_02 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162251 Troubling_stories_collage_03 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162790 TroublingGAN methodology Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2162934 TroublingGAN overview Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163030 TroublingGAN research overview Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163054 StyleGAN as an instrument of knowledge Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163058 training of StyleGAN Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163068 StyleGAN as an instrument of knowledge Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163121 troublingGAN training comparison Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163137 TroublingGAN exhibition in Usti nad Labem Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163274 TroublingGAN installation in Usti nad Labem Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163288 TroublingGAN installation detail Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163463 TroublingGAN 2 Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163501 TroublingGAN latent walk Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163874 troubling instagram stories Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2163967 TroublingGAN latent walks Lenka Hámošová CC BY-NC-ND
2405827 TG_purplelink_3 Lenka Hamosova All rights reserved
2406059 troublinggan_overviewpage_orange_purplelinks_transparent Lenka Hamosova All rights reserved
2407008 231126_troublinggan_overviewpage_orange_purplelinks_transparent Lenka Hamosova All rights reserved
2407527 blank NA Public domain

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