A very great meeting of minds as Taryn Simon and Aaron Schwartz create Image Atlas

Taryn Simon, an artist and photographer now synonymous with her indexing of human and cultural genealogies and experience has teamed up with Aaron Schwartz, an author, analyst and tech creator of some of the most forward-thinking and open platforms for discussion and exchange of information.

This great meeting of minds has been orchestrated by the chronically fascinating Rhizome for The New Museum, and Image Atlas is their brain child. In simplistic and thought-provoking terms (as is Simon’s way) the duo investigate the breaks and continuities of the top image searches for a given subject from across the world. The top results for each location can be viewed in alphabetical order or by the countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing an immediate visual taxonomy of cultural differences.

Incidently, the Image Atlas is part of an online exhibition curated by The New Museum on the occasion of the brand-new, re-envisioned website designed by Kettle. It’s a wonderful development in the presence of leading galleries online, setting new standards for the nature of the space and support that they offer online art projects.