Project ShareArt uses AI to Gauge How Attractive Art Is

Because the program is able to detect distance, it will also monitor the distance between guests and, if any two people stand too close for local COVID jurisdictions, the device will flash a reminder. It will also watch for diligent mask-wearing—something which, perhaps to the chagrin of researchers, will prevent the system from evaluating the facial expressions of guests for the time being.

According to a statement released by the ENEA, the data acquisition devices used in the ShareArt Project are apparently available to general consumers at a low cost. Perhaps this accessibility will lead to a widespread adoption of similar programs in new or growing art spaces that may particularly benefit from such curatorial insight.

Though the public seems interested in the project’s concept, there are many concerns about privacy. While these are difficult to quell, questions regarding technology’s capacity to truly determine the attractiveness of a piece of art seem easier to address. And this is largely due to the fact that Project ShareArt is not aiming to find one right answer. There is no single key that will unlock the secrets of attractive art. Rather, researchers seek to uncover and examine important trends and patterns. 

For example, according to a Bloomberg City Lab interview with researchers behind the project, few artworks “keep museum or gallery visitors ‘glued’ to the spot for more than 15 seconds.” The average is apparently closer to 4 to 5 seconds. Bologna Musei President Roberto Grandi also told the publication that viewers of a fourteenth-century diptych by Vitale degli Equi largely focused on the artwork’s busier, right-side panel.