Caltech Studies (paintings)

In "Caltech Studies," the viewer witnesses a historic moment: it marks the origin of current AI development. With this dataset, curated by Fei-Fei Li et. al., humanity began showing machines how we see and categorize the world. This poetic gesture, humans manually tracing animal contours to demonstrate image semantics to computer vision algorithms, resembles the fundamental pedagogical principle of explaining the world to a child.

Hawksbill 50 & Butterfly 3, PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

Wild Cat 19, The White Show, Nguyen Wahed Gallery, NYC, 2025

Pigeon, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Butterfly 3, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Wild Cat 19, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Flamingo Head 30, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2025

Crocodile Head 3, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2025

Pigeon 1, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Dalmatian 13, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Ibis 11, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Dolphin 50, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Hawksbill 50, 60 x 60cm, Pigment paint on Aludibond, 2024

Exhibition view, Caltech Studies (right), PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

Caltech Studies represents a critical juncture in the evolution of machine vision. It marks the first systematic attempt to teach computers to "see" through a process where three scientists meticulously traced the contours of objects in over 9,000 images. This manual annotation – the literal act of pointing and declaring "here it is" – constitutes a fundamental moment of pedagogy between human and machine, establishing the foundation for contemporary object recognition and artificial intelligence systems.

The particular significance of this historical dataset for my artistic practice lies in its methodological approach of manual tracing using a computer mouse. For the past decade, my work has centered on an intensive exploration of mouse movements as an artistic medium, examining them through the lens of information aesthetics. The decision to now work with others' lines – specifically those drawn within a scientific context – rather than my own, marks a significant evolution in my creative process: a movement from interior to exterior, from personal to collective gesture.

A critical dimension of my investigation emerges in the inherent imprecision of these hand-drawn contours. These "errors" transcend mere technical inadequacies to manifest as bias – an imprint of the dataset creators' identity and perspective. This original bias propagates throughout the development of machine learning, multiplying across derivative datasets and becoming an inextricable component of the system.

This observation leads to a fundamental critique of digitization and machine learning: in their statistical essence, these systems aspire to a kind of "data democracy," a averaging and summarization that inevitably eliminates peculiarities and anomalies. As a practitioner who has long operated at the intersection of digital technology and artistic expression, I perceive this as a crucial loss: the reduction of vibrant, unpredictable reality to digitally approximated models.

My project thus positions itself as a multidimensional reflection: simultaneously an homage to pioneering work in computer vision, an examination of human gesture's role in artificial intelligence development, and a critical interrogation of digital approximation's limitations. It seeks to render tangible the tension between technological progress and the irreplaceable value of "authentic experience" through artistic means.

The work situates itself within the discourse of post-digital aesthetics while engaging with questions of algorithmic bias and the materiality of digital processes. Through this investigation, I aim to problematize the relationship between human annotation and machine learning, revealing the subjective traces within seemingly objective systems.

Caltech Studies (realtime-eink)

Caltech Studies (realtime e-ink), PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

The hybrid nature of the e-ink medium is crucial to the conceptual dimension of the work. Electronic paper can be positioned between traditional media and digital technology. Unlike conventional screens, it emits no light, consumes minimal energy, and retains its image even without power. In "Caltech Studies," the viewer witnesses a historic moment: it marks the origin of current AI development. With this dataset, curated by Fei-Fei Li et. al., humanity began showing machines how we see and categorize the world. This poetic gesture, humans manually tracing animal contours to demonstrate image semantics to computer vision algorithms, resembles the fundamental pedagogical principle of explaining the world to a child.
The interdisciplinary quality of the work lies in its simultaneously digital and analog nature. A computer executes a real-time program generating never-identical constellations, while the framed "electronic paper" exists in the interplay between digital display and analog medium. The work can be "paused" when power is interrupted yet remains visible—a characteristic possessed by neither purely digital nor purely analog media.

Running on a 43x73cm e-ink panel driven by custom software. The e-paper material is similar to a classic computer screen, nearing 4k resolution but it doesn‘t emit light, is very energy efficient and the image remains even when unplugged.

realtime simulation

Exhibition view, Caltech Studies (realtime e-ink), PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

Caltech Studies (Plotter drawings)

All these plotter drawings have been created during the four days of the Chaos Communication Congress 38c3 in Hamburg, Germany end of 2024. Created using vintage plotters and original plotter pens from the 80s.

Caltech Studies on 2x HP7550 and 2x HP7475 plotters, created during the 38c3 (Chaos Communication Congress), 2024

Exhibition view, Caltech Studies plotter drawings (right), PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

Caltech Studies plotter drawings (38c3), PAIN && PLEASURE, DAM Projects Berlin, 2025

Cougar Body 3, 42 × 29,7 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Gerenuk 10, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Rooster 40, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Gerenuk 25, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Bass 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Crayfish 29, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Crocodile 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Butterfly 3, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Butterfly 16, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Butterfly 26, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Butterfly 66, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Hawksbill 8, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Hawksbill 28, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Hawksbill 50, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Hawksbill 81, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Pigeon 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Pigeon 7, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Pigeon 20, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Pigeon 31, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Buddha 8, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Rooster 15, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Rooster 36, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Rooster 45, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Platypus 9, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Platypus 13, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Platypus 20, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Gerenuk 22, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Gerenuk 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Ibis 18, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Panda 16, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Wild Cat 33, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Water Lilly 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Llama 18, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Leopards 26, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Laptop 1, 29,7 × 42 cm, plotter drawing, 2024

Caltech Studies (braille)

Exhibition view, Caltech Studies (braille), The White Show, Nguyen Wahed Gallery, NYC, 2025

Wild Cat 5
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Crocodile 1
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Elephant 19
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Dolphin 47
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Ant 35
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Rooster 44
braille embossing
29.7x42 cm/11.69x16.53in

Exhibition view, Caltech Studies (braille), The White Show, Nguyen Wahed Gallery, NYC, 2025

Using traditional braille printing technology, Schwittlick transforms the scientists' mouse movements into tactile compositions through the mechanical precision of the braille embosser - typically used for transcribing text - which here becomes a tool for rendering digital gestures into a haptic format, creating works that cannot be seen but touched. Accompanying each braille work is a digital counterpart where source code preserves the exact instructions sent to the braille machines first developed in the 1980s.

The links below are real-time audiovisual digital work with machine drawing instructions, inscribed as ordinals on BTC. (left-click for interaction)

All 20 inscriptions can be found here

🐔

Rooster 44

🐢

Hawksbill 67

🐟

Rooster 44

🐜

Ant 35

⭐

Rooster 44

🐘

Elephant 19

🐙

Octopus 27

🐆

Leopard 111

🐈

Wild Cat 5

🐊

Crocodile 1

🐬

Dolphin 47

🕊

Pigeon 23

🦀

Crab 19

🦋

Butterfly 73

🦏

Rhino 7

🦕

Brontosaurus 17

🦘

Kangaroo 33

🦙

Llama 29

🦩

Flamingo 59

🧸

Panda 24

Process