A Different View: Investigating Image Collections with Juxtapositional Inpainting

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Different View: Investigating Image Collections with Juxtapositional Inpainting

AU - Bak Herrie, Maja

AU - Enni, Simon

PY - 2025/7

Y1 - 2025/7

N2 - This article explores how generative AI can be used to create critical, form-based comparisons between historical and contemporary image collections. Inpainting on Google Street View and Google Maps scenes with models fine-tuned on images from two cultural heritage collections at the Royal Danish Library, we investigate visual and temporal discontinuities in depictions of the Danish city of Aarhus. Drawing on Susan Stanford Friedman’s concept of in/commensurability, we approach comparison as a deliberate, juxtapositional method for engaging visual archives. We present our method, discuss key findings from our experiments, and share our code to encourage reuse, adaptation, and further critical exploration.

AB - This article explores how generative AI can be used to create critical, form-based comparisons between historical and contemporary image collections. Inpainting on Google Street View and Google Maps scenes with models fine-tuned on images from two cultural heritage collections at the Royal Danish Library, we investigate visual and temporal discontinuities in depictions of the Danish city of Aarhus. Drawing on Susan Stanford Friedman’s concept of in/commensurability, we approach comparison as a deliberate, juxtapositional method for engaging visual archives. We present our method, discuss key findings from our experiments, and share our code to encourage reuse, adaptation, and further critical exploration.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0024-094X

JO - Leonardo

JF - Leonardo

ER -