|
Computers can now recognise the work of different artists and even tell the differences between genuine paintings and fakes. Scientists at Israel's University of Haifa have developed a mathematical program that analyses paintings geometrically. The computer breaks down the picture into its component sections, then calculates the sines and cosines. (If you've forgotten your high school trigonometry, that means the relative size and shapes of triangles.)
Once the computer learns the pattern of a particular artist, it can identify whether another painting is legitimately that person's work. Professor Daniel Keren, who developed the program, explained: "As soon as the computer learns to recognize the clock drawings of Dali, it will recognize his other paintings, even without clocks. As soon as the computer learns to recognize the swirls of Van Gogh, it will recognize them in pictures it has never seen before." According to Professor Keren, human vision is still a better judge because it "has undergone evolution of millions of years and our field is only 30 years old". He explains that computers are much better at recognising and processing highly intricate three-dimensional images such as the brain's arteries or a road network. But humans have the advantage with seemingly simple tasks such as recognising a human face (Source: University of Haifa) It seems this is because computers can only deal with specific detail and lack the human ability to see the big picture. Professor Keren says the computer only recognises artists by the common patterns to how they paint, rather than what the image actually is. "It can't yet look at a painting as a whole, and say, this is characteristic of a certain artist because it represents a particular subject -- a cow, or a flower, for example. (Source: vnutnet.com) Art dealers have already made enquiries about using the program for investigating potential forgeries. But it seems unlikely the computer will replace human art experts in assessing whether an unknown painting is by a particular artist. Instead it could be best used for judging how accurate a billed 'replica' of a famous work is. (Source: vnunet.com) The project is a great example of the benefits and limitations of technology. The computer is far more capable of objectively analysing a painting, but only a human can make a subjective judgement about its appeal.
-- Related newsletter articles:
2007/08/08 Sanity of Southpaws Scrutinized (human)
2007/09/18 Prince Punishes Piracy, Copyright Infringers (artist)
2007/03/01 Not all custom built Dell's ship with Vista (computers)
2007/06/12 Microsoft Ignites New Music Program (artist)
2007/04/05 MS Critical Security Fix: Released Ahead of Schedule (computers)
2007/07/18 Down on Vista Down Under (computers)
2007/06/27 Intel, Google, and Friends Begin Energy-Efficient Revolution (computers)
2007/11/02 'Melissa' Exposes Self, Security Hole (computers)
2003/11/20 Trace the origin of an email abuser?, Part 2 (computers)
2006/05/26 Recommended Software or Unscrupulous Scam? (particular)
2005/06/14 Music Collector Review (artist)
2003/11/26 Move Me Review (computers)
2007/11/02 "The Last Supper" at 16 Billion Pixels (painting)
2007/07/18 Intel Joins the $100 Laptop Campaign (computers)
2006/04/11 Home Networking Made Easy (computers)
2004/12/10 Connect 2 wireless PCs with no router?, Part 2 (computers)
-- Recent articles (from all channels): 2008/05/12 Today in History: for Monday, May 12, 2008
2008/05/12 [ShellX 20080512]: 'Remote Manager', and 'Cyber Bandwidth ...
2008/05/12 Video Gaming Trade Group Struggling
2008/05/12 T-Mobile Finally Joins 3G Phone Race
2008/05/12 Apple Slammed by Environment Watchdog
2008/05/09 [ShellX 20080509]: 'Advanced Run', and 'Diver Windows Manager'
2008/05/09 Texas Refuses Facebook Friend Request
2008/05/09 Photo-Enforcement Technology Replaces Officers On Patrol
2008/05/09 Cuban Government Says 'Ok Computer'
2008/05/09 Excel Can E-Mail Your Weekly Reports For You!
2008/05/08 [ShellX 20080508]: 'Shell Enhancer', and 'Lansweeper'
2008/05/08 Xobni: MS Outlook Social Networking Technology for your Inbox
2008/05/08 Music Companies Jump on GTA IV Bandwagon
2008/05/08 Fascinating: Memristor to replace Binary
2008/05/08 Adobe Hopes To Make Flash Master Of The (Mobile) Universe
2008/05/08 Spiffy Envelopes and Labels in MS Word
2008/05/07 [ShellX 20080507]: 'Winbin2iso', and 'Loop Typer'
2008/05/07 Yahoo Adds Security Warnings To Search Results
2008/05/07 Apple to Lose Money on iTunes Movie Releases
2008/05/07 Amazon.com takes New York Tax to Court
2008/05/07 Need Glasses for the Slide Sorter View in MS PowerPoint?
2008/05/07 After Winning The DVD Format War, Blu-Ray Sales Tank
2008/05/06 [ShellX 20080506]: 'Visual Basic 6.0 Portable', and 'Double-...
2008/05/06 Yahoo Outsources to Jajah
2008/05/06 New HP Circuit Could Change Technology Forever
2008/05/06 Movie Downloads To Match DVD Release Dates
2008/05/06 Microsoft Ends Yahoo Bid
2008/05/05 [ShellX 20080505]: 'Ie7 Pro', and 'Desktop Ok'
2008/05/05 The WB Network Hops Online
2008/05/05 Microsoft Slashes Price of Xbox 360 Overseas
2008/05/05 Google CEO Wants YouTube to Take More of Your Money
|
