Following the research of Lehigh student, Tiana Aldroubi ‘24, this exhibition delves into the patterns present in artworks created by individuals with dementia. Leveraging machine learning and computer vision techniques, Aldroubi analyzed the artistic features of paintings done by individuals both with and without dementia to find correlations and emerging patterns. With this research, Aldroubi hopes to gain insight into the effects of dementia on creativity and investigate how cognitive decline may be depicted in artwork.

A visual representation of Jack Whitten’s Untitled work in the Lehigh University Art Galleries collection demonstrating how images are “seen” and “understood” by computer programs. Since computers do not have eyes they do not see in the same way that people do. Instead, an image is represented as a grid of pixels. Typically each pixel is assigned three number values to represent the intensity of red, green and blue respectively. This visualization shows the numerical color value over each pixel in the artwork illustrating how Tiana’s software might understand and process art as data.

Tiana Aldroubi, Researcher and Exhibition Designer
Tiana Aldroubi is a senior at Lehigh pursuing a dual major in Computer Science and Graphic Design with a minor in German. She is interested in the intersection between technology and creativity particularly in how artwork can be leveraged as a unique data source in computer vision problems.

 

 

 

Emily Tsao, Student Curator
Emily Tsao ‘25 is a senior at Lehigh majoring in Product and Graphic Design with minors in Psychology and Marketing from San Francisco, California. Some activities she has been involved in are Ecoreps, Posse Foundation, LUSSI, Lehigh@Nasdaq: Startup Academy, as well as interning at LUAG since her freshman year.

 

 

 

Jackson Darling, Student Curator
Jackson is a recent graduate of Lehigh University, Class of 2024. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Museum Studies and History. During his time at LUAG, Jackson learned about museum education, curation, and design and also managed the LUAG Student Advisory Committee. Outside of LUAG, he enjoys music, movies, and cooking!

 

 

Image: A visual representation of Untitled, by Jack Whitten (work in the Lehigh University Art Galleries collection) demonstrating the process of Aldroubi’s software and how it reads works of art utilized in her research. Each pixel demonstrates a color from the original artwork as well as pixel numbers the color swatch corresponds with.