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      An A.I. Model Helped Uncover 303 Previously Unseen Nazca Lines in Peru

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      All images courtesy of Masato Sakai et al.

      An A.I. Model Helped Uncover 303 Previously Unseen Nazca Lines in Peru

      September 26, 2024

      Art History

      Grace Ebert

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      In 2022, we shared news of a monumental discovery at Peru’s Nazca Pampa, a UNESCO World Heritage site once home to pre-Inca Indigenous peoples who were fond of etching gargantuan artworks into the earth’s surface. Discovered in 1927, archaeologists spent nearly a century uncovering 430 figurative glyphs depicting animals, people, and hybrid creatures.

      But thanks to a new A.I.-trained system, researchers have identified an additional 303 drawings in just six months as detailed in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Included in the findings are various birds, cats, ceremonial acts, and even a killer whale wielding a weapon.

      Dating back at least 2,000 years, the works offer insight into the cultural and spiritual practices of the ancient civilization. Although theories about the purpose of the lines range from calendars to agriculture and human migration, researchers know they were made by removing darker stones to reveal lighter, desert sand below.

      Whereas drones have helped to identify the giant line drawings that stretch across the desert, the A.I. model has been adept at detecting the smaller, relief-type renderings that mainly portray wild animals and are more difficult to find.

      The larger of the glyphs depict primarily humans, domesticated animals, and lone heads and “are typically located within viewing distance (on average 43 meters) of ancient trails that crisscross the Nazca Pampa and were most likely built and viewed at the individual or small-group level,” researchers say, noting that the smaller “are found an average of 34 meters from the elaborate linear/trapezoidal network of geoglyphs, which suggests that they were probably built and used on a community level for ritual activities.”

      Using aerial and satellite images of the site along with LIDAR data, archeologists trained the A.I. model to identify the sometimes imperceptible lines. The team then reviewed and confirmed the results by traveling to the location. They estimate that the A.I. model is 21 times faster at perceiving the works than humans. (via Smithsonian Magazine)

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    • 125 Shares139 Views

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      An Ancient Peruvian Site Reveals a Remarkable Painted Throne Room

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      All images courtesy of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, shared with permission

      An Ancient Peruvian Site Reveals a Remarkable Painted Throne Room

      September 25, 2024

      Art History Science

      Kate Mothes

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      Between about 350 and 850 C.E., a society known as the Moche thrived in the coastal valleys of northern Peru. Pañamarca, in the Nepeña Valley, is the southernmost center of the Moche culture and the site of a remarkable series of recent archaeological discoveries, including the latest: a monumental pillared hall with vibrantly painted walls.

      The Archaeological Landscapes of Pañamarca, founded in 2018, is a collaboration between Peruvian and U.S. archaeologists, art historians, and conservators. Its research and digs are supported by the National Geographic Society, the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University, and the Avenir Conservation Center at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

      This year, archaeologists uncovered a pillared room containing evidence of its use by a high-status female leader. Scenes depict the powerful woman receiving visitors in procession or seated upon a throne.

      “Scholars will debate whether the woman painted on the walls of the throne room is human or mythical (a priestess, goddess, or queen),” researchers say. “But the physical evidence of the throne, including the erosion to its back support and the recovery of greenstone beads, fine threads, and even human hair, make clear that it was occupied by a real living person—and the evidence all points to a seventh-century woman leader of Pañamarca.”

      The figure portrayed on the walls is associated with the crescent moon, the sea and its creatures, and the fiber arts. Additional murals uncovered this past July reveal a scene of an entire workshop of women spinning and weaving, along with a retinue of men carrying textiles and the leader’s crown—which includes her braids.

      Lisa Trever, professor of art history at Columbia University, says, “Pañamarca continues to surprise us, not only for the ceaseless creativity of its painters but also because their works are overturning our expectations of gender roles in the ancient Moche world.”

      The colorful wall paintings of Pañamarca were first recorded in the 1950s, depicting battles between supernatural beings, priests, warriors in procession, a unique two-faced man, and ceremonial activities.

      “Moche archaeology is well known for its rich, elite tombs, impressive architecture and artworks, and elaborate religious artifacts and imagery,” says a project statement. Atop a granite hill, the site consists of a stepped adobe platform, two lower platforms, a walled plaza, and a number of other structures.

      Dig deeper on the Pañamarca project’s website and Instagram.

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    • 138 Shares169 Views

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      Step Into Beguiling Bygone Eras in Jeff Bartels’s ‘Urban Glitch’ Series

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      “Urban Glitch 1983,” oil on linen. All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission

      Step Into Beguiling Bygone Eras in Jeff Bartels’s ‘Urban Glitch’ Series

      September 23, 2024

      Art History

      Kate Mothes

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      Around the time he turned 50, Jeff Bartels (previously) found himself thinking more and more about memory and nostalgia. “It occurred to me that I could remember certain things from my past exactly, while other memories were mixed up or even wrong,” he tells Colossal. “So I decided to explore that confusion.”

      Bartels’s ongoing series Urban Glitch consists of five paintings so far, each focusing on different years from the recent past, ranging from 1979 to 2001. Each painstakingly detailed composition highlights pop culture of the era, from the latest cars and products to pastimes, music, and fashion.

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 1983”

      The imaginary buildings stack on top of one another and connect via bridges, platforms, and staircases reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s mathematically puzzling architecture.

      Locked in time and space, as if the scenes are “glitching,” Bartels’s thriving urban hubs invoke the sights and sounds of bygone eras. People peer into their fridges, walk their dogs, play games at the arcade, and view paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat or Damien Hirst’s seminal 1991 work of a tiger shark preserved in a tank.

      The artist employs 3D modeling software to create references for each painting rather than photographic sources, so “there is a lot of work done on my computer before I even pick up a brush and being the painting,” he says. “This way, I can create realistic-looking scenes that could not exist in the real world.”

      Each piece takes hundreds of hours to complete due to the meticulous process of defining each building, figure, and tiny, stage-like scene. The artist estimates “1983” took about 850 hours altogether, and while the time commitment alone makes it “easy to burn out on them…” he says, “I do plan on continuing the series with at least a few more.”

      Find more on Bartels’s website and Instagram.

      “Urban Glitch 1985,” oil on linen, 30 x 30 inches

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 1985”

      “Urban Glitch 1979,” oil on linen, 30 x 30 inches

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 1979”

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 1979”

      “Urban Glitch 1991,” oil on linen, 30 x 30 inches

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 1983”

      “Urban Glitch 2001,” oil on linen, 30 x 30 inches

      Detail of “Urban Glitch 2001”

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    • 100 Shares129 Views

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      John Peralta Explodes Historic Technology into Three-Dimensional Diagrams

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      “HOMMAGE” (2023), L.M. Ericsson “Eiffel Tower” telephone (c. 1890), steel, walnut, mono-filament, and LED lighting, 40 x 40 x 13 inches. All images © John Peralta, shared with permission

      John Peralta Explodes Historic Technology into Three-Dimensional Diagrams

      September 12, 2024

      Art History

      Kate Mothes

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      On individual strings of monofilament, John Peralta (previously) suspends every single component of historic gadgets, from Rollieflex cameras to Singer sewing machines. The Austin-based artist reinterprets iconic technology to create complex, three-dimensional exploded diagrams using real objects.

      Peralta recalls childhood memories of pulling a red wagon around the neighborhood with his brother. They would knock on doors and collect broken radios and tape decks so they could open the items up and explore what made each tick. Also inspired by the mind-boggling, mathematic renderings of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, Peralta spent a lot of time drawing with pencil and charcoal, and art eventually morphed from a hobby to a full-time pursuit.

      Detail of “The Three-eyed Raven” (202), Polliard – Bolex 16 mm film camera (c. 1950), wood, steel, mono-filament, and LED lights, 40 x 40 x 13 inches

      Fascinated by the history, function, and components of 19th- and 20th-century innovations, Peralta dismantles each item piece by piece, then meticulously strings up every part inside illuminated boxes. Elaborate film reels inside a Bolex 16mm camera or the gears and keys of a Hammond Multiplex typewriter are expanded to reveal the mechanisms’ inner workings.

      While he continues to focus primarily on antiques, Peralta is always interested in refining and experimenting with different methods and materials. “New Abnormal,” for instance, incorporates a 1980s boombox, with tiny figures that interact with its wiring or traverse its surfaces.

      In 2020, a Nashville hotel commissioned a large-scale installation of floating musical instruments for its lobby, and the artist is currently in progress on a sculpture using the original guitar that Robby Krieger played on The Doors’ first album. He’s also working on a commissioned antique binnacle, a stand on the deck of a ship where navigational instruments like the compass are placed.

      If you’re in Los Angeles, you can see the artist’s sculptures in a forthcoming exhibition about Pacific Standard Time, opening September 28 at The Loft at Liz’s. Find more on his website, and follow updates on Instagram.

      “New Abnormal” (2021), Sony “boombox” cassette player (c. 1980), aluminum, acrylic, fluorocarbon mono-filament, and steel cable, 48 x 26 x 69 inches

      “Professor Fox’s Fantastic Writing Machine” (2023), Hammond Multiplex typewriter (c. 1913), steel, walnut, mono-filament, and LED lighting, 40 x 40 x 13 inches

      Detail of “Professor Fox’s Fantastic Writing Machine”

      “Rolleiflex” (2023), Rolleiflex medium format camera, walnut, acrylic, aluminum, and fluorocarbon mono-filament, 26.5 x 17.5 x 25 inches

      Detail of “Rolleiflex” (2023)

      “A Stitch in Time” (2023), Singer Portable Sewing Machine (c. 1924), wood, steel, gold leaf, acrylic resin, mono-filament, and LED lighting, 26 x 35 x 15 inches

      “Black Powder” (2020), 1858 New Army Black Powder Revolver (replica), walnut, steel, fluorocarbon mono-filament, and LED lighting, 36 x 38.5 x 13 inches

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