Tomáš Dvořák: Images Not Intended for the Human Eye

Description

The first EDUC8PEOPLE encounter hosted Tomáš Dvořák, media theorist and lecturer at the Photography Department at FAMU. Following a joint discussion, we selected as the theme of his lecture “operative images”, i.e. images generated by algorithms and artificial intelligence not with the aim of an artistic representation of reality, entertainment, or information intended for a human recipient, but with the aim of surveillance or navigation. Operative images are merely part of an operation that takes place without the participation of a human observer. They are images that are not intended for the human eye, but rather for the “eye” of the machine. Examples of such images include the perspective of a military drone directed by auto-navigation or security camera footage. These are images through which machines “watch” us. 

The three-hour seminar included a lecture on operative images and a joint discussion about texts by film director Harun Farocki, experimental photographer Trevor Paglen, and film directore Hito Steyerl.