Data Visualization as Art · Lev Manovich · On Data And Design
On Data and Design Meetup #25
Online, Ocotber 26th, 2023
Our panel of experts explores the latest projects that combine data visualization, data art, sculpture, and sensory experiences. The overarching question «Where does design end and art begin?» guides us.
Lev Manovich (https://www.manovich.net/) A pioneering media theorist and the mind behind "The Language of New Media." Lev introduces selected projects of his Cultural Analytics lab which combine methods from design, data visualization and digital humanities. The lab was created in 2007 to develop techniques for the study contemporary and historical visual cultures using big data approaches.
00:00 🌟 The field of artistic data visualization, also known as data art, has been around for 25 years, with significant growth and diversity in recent years.
02:30 🎨 Lev Manovich shares his personal journey in the field, starting from his training in art 50 years ago and his transition to digital art in 1984.
05:45 📚 The term "data art" emerged between 2004 and 2005, with critical articles published in 2005-2006, leading to a period of expansion in the field until around 2012.
08:10 💡 While there haven't been many new intellectual and artistic strategies in the last 10 years, there is still excitement in exploring new kinds of data and working with complex material.
11:20 🖼 Lev Manovich showcases the historical importance of Martin Lenberg and Fernando Vegas' project visualizing the history of controversies in Wikipedia pages.
13:15 📊 Lev Manovich presents some of his own projects, such as visualizing Instagram images and creating visualizations of cultural data using techniques of data visualization and digital arts.
17:50 🤔 Lev Manovich reflects on his transition to creating single images and explores the possibilities of AI-generated art, while also questioning its ultimate purpose in the context of the ever-expanding image culture.
🔑 Key Insight 1: Data visualization as an art form has been around for over 25 years, with the term "artistic data visualization" emerging around 2004-2005. This field has seen the emergence of more diverse voices in terms of gender and ethnicity, which is a positive development.
🔑 Key Insight 2: The speaker reflects on their long history in the field, having started their training in art in 1973 and working in digital art since 1984. They acknowledge that while they may feel like they have seen it all, it's important to recognize the growth and evolution of creative data visualization over the years.
🔑 Key Insight 3: Between 2001 and 2004, there was a significant increase in critical articles and attention towards data art and creative data visualization. This period can be seen as a heroic period for data visualization art.
🔑 Key Insight 4: The accessibility of data has expanded over time, leading to a continuous expansion of the field. However, the speaker notes that they haven't seen any new intellectual or artistic strategies emerge in the last 10 years.
🔑 Key Insight 5: The speaker showcases a historically significant project by Martin Lenberg and Fernando Vegas from 20 years ago. This project visualized the history of controversies on Wikipedia pages, highlighting the battle between different voices and challenging the traditional idea of an encyclopedia.
🔑 Key Insight 6: The speaker shares their own contributions to the field, including publishing the first article on data visualization as art in 2002 and showcasing various projects from their research lab. They emphasize the combination of data visualization techniques with big data to study visual culture.
🔑 Key Insight 7: The speaker discusses their recent transition to creating single images and their exploration of AI-generated art. They express a desire to marry their previous work in visualizing large image collections with the new possibilities offered by AI, while acknowledging the need to explore different forms of artistic expression in the evolving media landscape.
On Data and Design is an evening lecture series organized by the Basel-based studio for information design Superdot – visualizing complexity. The lecture series fosters knowledge, community and exchange at the intersection of design and data practice. Our free, quarterly events feature three short talks with beer, snacks and good company. Currently On Data and Design live events are running in Basel, Vienna and Berlin with a growing community of over 1500 engaged DataVizzers.
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Darjan Hil from Superdot (https://www.superdot.studio/darjan-hi...) is hosting the On Data And Design (https://www.ondataanddesign.com) online session live on Youtube.
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