ART: Data Visualization Prints

Prints of some of my data visualization art pieces. Most are based on network security events, or just how internet traffic looks on the wire.

For awhile, my job involved dealing with massive amounts of data. By “dealing with”, I mean that 2 human analysts had to figure out how to process 65,000,000 distinct “things” a day and say something smart about them. Obviously, that’s impossible without some help. By taking information out of a “text” form, though, which is low resolution and takes a lot of higher level thinking to process and putting into visualizations utilizing color, shape, line, form to take advantage of the brains inherent talents at pattern recognition.

What does this have to do with art? I began to realize that the same techniques and relationships that made data easily digestable to the analysts were very similar to the ones that people appreciated aesthetically. Since then, I’ve taken a number of those security data visualizations, tweaked them a little bit without changing their underlying truth, and used them as art in shows (a number of them have been since sold).

I find the connection between the unassailable connection between art and science fascinating.