Abstract (Short paper)

Keywords: data, visualisation, generative, art, poetry

Inspired by Tristan Tzara’s DaDa poetry, in which the words of a newspaper article are randomly reassembled to create an original poem, DaDa Visualisation is a whimsical interactive artwork producing dynamic generative visualisations based on a catalogue of poems. This paper outlines the work and examines the key issues and ideas to which it responds. It defines data visualisation as a lens that is increasingly applied to all aspects of our lives, and while typically heralded as a revelatory scientific instrument it shows data-vis as a creative cultural form. Fundamentally, DaDa Visualisation is an irreverent celebration of our fascination with data and data graphics but also provides a valuable critical perspective, reminding us that data visualisations are neither benign nor impartial but the product of authorial agency.

• Dr Geoff Hinchcliffe, Centre for Creative & Cultural Research, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia. I’m at the University of Canberra where I head up a department broadly concerned with digital design and media production – Media Arts, Graphic Design, Front-End Web, Film Production. With colleagues @mtchl and @wragge I contribute to the Digital Treasures research program where we explore new opportunities for accessing and representing rich digital cultural collections. My creative practice focuses on data viz, dynamic design, and interface poetics. gravitron.com.au

Full Text (PDF) p. 169-172