Data collection is something I used in my Gap in Time series where I collected imagery and text then combined them with methodologies rooted in the disciplines of anthropology and sociology. It’s something I’m thinking of working with again.

In an article written by Jacoba Urist, he explains that it’s a genre that aims to translate large amounts of information into some kind of aesthetic form. A growing number of artists are using data from self-tracking apps in their pieces, showing that creative work is as much a product of its technology as of its time.

Data artists generally fall into two groups, the first work with large amounts of scientific data and the second group is influenced by self-tracking. Nathalie Miebach, whose work I've mentioned before in a previous blog, falls into the first group, and she transforms weather patterns into complex sculptures and musical scores. The second group believes that working with data is about achieving a greater awareness of complex matters in a modern world. Artist Lauren Frick creates data art about mood, exercise and personality and turns it into vibrant, carefully crafted art, using dyes, leather, wood and laminate. The results look a bit like a spreadsheet composed by the abstract painter Mondrian, she says “in all of these patterns, I do think there is an essential idea of who we are”.

Currently I’m reading through Giorgia Lupi’s and Stephanie Posavec’s book Observe, collect, draw! which is written to encourage readers to harness their skills of observation, document the world around and discover more about themselves and their lives. Giorgia Lupi is an information designer and her work is part of the permanent collection MOMA, where in 2017 she was commissioned to create a site specific piece.

Yet the question remains whether data art can endure or is it a means towards bringing the art world into the future of technological innovation. Lets see.

Reference:

From Paint to Pixels JACOBA URIST MAY 14, 2015