Seeing the Unseeable: Data, Design, Art

Art in the age of big data.

This volume presents a visually rich examination of how contemporary art, design, and culture have responded to big data and its outsized role in modern life. Inspired by the growing field of data visualization, Seeing the Unseeable focuses on the myriad issues and inventions embodied in works by a dynamic range of twenty-first century artists and designers exploring the intersection of information and expression.

Big data has spawned the growth of data visualization, the practice of representing vast quantities of information to make it understandable and engaging. In early forms, the field was used in maps and graphic charts, and viewed largely as a tool to convey information. In recent years it has become an influential force in contemporary culture, transforming visual literacy in the global cultural landscape. This volume reveals contemporary responses to data and its impact by Refik Anadol, Giorgia Lupi, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Sarah Morris, Fernanda Viégas, and many others.

Julie Joyce, Stephen Nowlin, and Hyesoo Christina Valentine are accomplished curators and frequent collaborators whose paths auspiciously intersected at the Exhibitions Department of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.