2005 – Email Erosion: First Data Sculpture?

Although there are older data sculptures (see our entry 1995 – Loren Madsen’s Early Data Sculptures), this installation from artist Ethan Ham may have been the first artifact to be called a data sculpture. In 2005, Andrew Vande Moere, a Design Professor and author of the now discontinued data visualization blog infosthetics, described the installation as: an art installation that automatically creates physical data sculptures, using spam & e-mail as data to trigger the sculpting […]

Although there are older data sculptures (see our entry 1995 – Loren Madsen’s Early Data Sculptures), this installation from artist Ethan Ham may have been the first artifact to be called a data sculpture. In 2005, Andrew Vande Moere, a Design Professor and author of the now discontinued data visualization blog infosthetics, described the installation as: an art installation that automatically creates physical data sculptures, using spam & e-mail as data to trigger the sculpting process. the installation contains robot—like mechanisms that function like a flat-bed plotter, squirting water to dissolve sections of a large block of biodegradable (starch-based) styrofoam. each of the bots is associated with an email address, which triggers to either move or squirt water, depending on an algorithm that uses the email’s content as input data. I emailed Ethan Ham to ask for more explanations and he responded: It’s been a while, but I believe what the sculpture would do is take the email’s raw data, convert it to a numeric representation, and then use that number to drive an action (rotate sculpture, raise/lower sprayer, spray). So according to Robert Kosara (archived version), this installation is a data-driven artifact but not a visualization in the pragmatic sense. Sources: Ethan Ham (2006) Email Erosion. (archived version) Pierre Dragicevic and Yvonne Jansen (2017) Data Physicalization Wiki, Terminology First quote by Andrew Vande Moere (2005) email erosion Second quote and high-res photos from Ethan Ham, sent in a personal e-mail in August 2024.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: data sculpture, emails, spam, styrofoam, water

2010 – Computer Glitches as 3D Objects

Glitch objects is a series of artworks by Tracy Cornish which transform two-dimensional visual results of computer glitches into three-dimensional objects by mapping properties of a visual glitch into 3D space. The left image shows glitch object 22, the right image shows glitch object 218. Computer glitches are the completely random, unpredictable and unexpected failures of digital systems. They are the result of approximated values and computational compensations for inaccessible information. […]

Glitch objects is a series of artworks by Tracy Cornish which transform two-dimensional visual results of computer glitches into three-dimensional objects by mapping properties of a visual glitch into 3D space. The left image shows glitch object 22, the right image shows glitch object 218. Computer glitches are the completely random, unpredictable and unexpected failures of digital systems. They are the result of approximated values and computational compensations for inaccessible information. Unlike bugs or faulty programming which can be tracked back to errors in code, glitches are fleeting and are often the result of untraceable truncated data streams or rounded values. “Artifacts” in digital media refer to an undesired alteration in data introduced through a digital process of representation. Within broader culture, artifacts are precious objects made or given shape by human beings. Glitch Objects explore this semantic relationship through a series of rapid prototype sculptures. Using source glitches as found objects of digital culture, Glitch Objects were generated by mapping 2-dimensional malfunctions into 3-dimensional forms. These artifacts shift digital information into the physical realm - turning digital rubbish into delicate art objects. Glitch Objects are part of an ongoing research inquiry that explores the potential for glitches to be employed as an entry point into the critique of post-digital culture. Source: Tracy Cornish, Glitch Objects.

Added by: Yvonne Jansen, sent by: Todd Margolis. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: 3d printing, data sculpture

2015 – Spheres of Risk

These shiny porcelain spheres visualize how risky a person is. The project was created by Nikita Rokotyan and the team during the 72U creative residency program in 2015 led by Maria Scileppi. Thirty-eight guest speakers were asked to complete a survey consisting of 12 questions related to 3 different types of risk: financial, social and physical. Their answers were analyzed and mapped onto a sphere to visualize a person’s willingness to take certain risks. The individual spheres were then […]

These shiny porcelain spheres visualize how risky a person is. The project was created by Nikita Rokotyan and the team during the 72U creative residency program in 2015 led by Maria Scileppi. Thirty-eight guest speakers were asked to complete a survey consisting of 12 questions related to 3 different types of risk: financial, social and physical. Their answers were analyzed and mapped onto a sphere to visualize a person’s willingness to take certain risks. The individual spheres were then molded in porcelain and presented to the speakers as a thank you gift. Project video: https://vimeo.com/273922538 Sources: Nikita Rokotyan, https://rokotyan.com/dataviz/risky (archived version) Maria Scileppi: https://www.mariascileppi.com (archived version)

Added by: Nikita Rokotyan. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: data sculpture, porcelain, survey data

2015 – Summer in the City

The visualization explores the direct influence of weather and traffic volume on air pollution, comparing data of a 4-week period during summer 2015 in Lugano (Switzerland). Different colored laser cut plates fixed on wires represent daily data. As the wires are diagonally mounted on the structure, looking from different sides, they evidence either daily data or the evolution of the parameters. Source: Carola Bartsch (2015), Summer in the city

Added by: Carola Bartsch. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: air pollution, data sculpture, digital fabrication, environment, laser-cut, traffic, weather

2015 – Passim: Visual Reconceptualisation of Spatial Theories

The master thesis of Paul Heinicker, Passim, visually reflects the humanistic discourse about space. The research of spatial theory led to four major notions how to think space from a sociopolitical perspective. The installation explores the relationship of these four spatial notions by projecting visualisations of geopolitical data from the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research onto the physical sculpture. Eventually, different world-views are created, that show how notions […]

The master thesis of Paul Heinicker, Passim, visually reflects the humanistic discourse about space. The research of spatial theory led to four major notions how to think space from a sociopolitical perspective. The installation explores the relationship of these four spatial notions by projecting visualisations of geopolitical data from the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research onto the physical sculpture. Eventually, different world-views are created, that show how notions of space directly influence recent geopolitical events, like the refugee crisis, and how we can spatially rethink global political constellations. Here the produced images are seen as counter drafts to previous imaginations about space. These visualisations do not clarify through simplification, but are an experimental approach of a visual research. Sources: Paul Heinicker (2015) passim.

Added by: Paul Heinicker. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: cartographic, critical design, data sculpture, media theory

2016 – Housing Prices Ripping San Francisco Apart

This data sculpture depicts a map of housing prices in San Francisco. It’s a map of the city, torn at the seams. The height of each area represents the average price per square foot for recent home sales. Where neighboring areas are close in value they are connected, but if neighboring areas are too far from each other I allow them to split, tearing the city along its most severe economic divides. Sources: Doug McCune (2016) Sculpture of Housing Prices Ripping San Francisco Apart Abigail Cain […]

This data sculpture depicts a map of housing prices in San Francisco. It’s a map of the city, torn at the seams. The height of each area represents the average price per square foot for recent home sales. Where neighboring areas are close in value they are connected, but if neighboring areas are too far from each other I allow them to split, tearing the city along its most severe economic divides. Sources: Doug McCune (2016) Sculpture of Housing Prices Ripping San Francisco Apart Abigail Cain (2016) This Sculpture Shows How the Tech Boom Has Upended San Francisco’s Neighborhoods Related: Also see our entry 2013 – Doug McCune’s Physical Maps.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: 3d printing, cartographic, data sculpture, housing prices, san francisco

2016 – Motus Forma: People's Motions in a Shared Space

Motus Forma is a data sculpture by Brian Allen and Stephanie Smith that aggregates 10 hours of people movements in the lobby space at Pier 9. The 1300+ motion paths are piled up according to time. Sources: Autodesk (2016) Motus Forma Instructables (2016) Motus Forma Photo by Pierre Dragicevic Related: Also see our other entries on temporal data.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: 3d printing, data sculpture, temporal data

2019 – Physical Globe Model of Global Temperature Change

Using open source NASA GISS data, british model maker and designer Matthew Stewart created a sculpture which communicates the temperature rise of the globe compared to 50 years ago. With the data’s lat/long variable, Matthew Stewart represented temperature increase with length of protruding rod – the greater the difference, the longer the rod. Made of 3,204 pieces, assembly had to be perfect to ensure the lattice structure held its form correctly, & so the data was represented accurately. […]

Using open source NASA GISS data, british model maker and designer Matthew Stewart created a sculpture which communicates the temperature rise of the globe compared to 50 years ago. With the data’s lat/long variable, Matthew Stewart represented temperature increase with length of protruding rod – the greater the difference, the longer the rod. Made of 3,204 pieces, assembly had to be perfect to ensure the lattice structure held its form correctly, & so the data was represented accurately. Sources: https://a-maker.co.uk/global_temperature_change/ (seemingly offline) Anne-Laure Fréant (2022) Interview with Matthew Stewart, Model maker and Data-sculpture designer. (archived version) Related: Also see our entry 2014 – Blaue Blumen: Handcrafted Offline Data Visualization of Population Density .

Added by: Anne-Laure Fréant. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: global warming, cartographic, globe, NASA, data sculpture

2020 – Econundrum: Visualizing the Climate Impact of Dietary Choices

Econundrum is a shared physical system, designed to visualize the carbon emissions as a result of dietary choices. People of a community can indicate on their phone what food types they ate that day, which will be visualized on the physical installation. Every disk represents the impact of one person, and its elevation indicates the level of impact: higher is fewer carbon emissions, lower is more carbon emissions. The highlighted food types visualize how the 'foodprint' of each person is […]

Econundrum is a shared physical system, designed to visualize the carbon emissions as a result of dietary choices. People of a community can indicate on their phone what food types they ate that day, which will be visualized on the physical installation. Every disk represents the impact of one person, and its elevation indicates the level of impact: higher is fewer carbon emissions, lower is more carbon emissions. The highlighted food types visualize how the 'foodprint' of each person is composed. The different sized circles within the disks show the impact ratio of the different food types, which could be used for choosing alternatives to decrease carbon emissions. Sources: Kim Sauvé, Saskia Bakker, and Steven Houben (2020) Econundrum: Visualizing the Climate Impact of Dietary Choices Through a Shared Data Sculpture Econundrum demonstration video Econundrum project page

Added by: Kim Sauvé. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: data sculpture, sustainability, climate change

2021 – State of the World as Population Pyramids

The collection "State of the World" is composed of population pyramids and was created by Mathieu Lehanneur for the 2021 exhibition art basel - design miami. Each of the 100 sculptures encodes the population data of one country: age is encoded in rings from birth at the bottom to 100 years at the top; the width of each ring encodes the proportion of the population being of that age. each age pyramid reveals the particularities of a nation — the youth of chad, translated by the geometric […]

The collection "State of the World" is composed of population pyramids and was created by Mathieu Lehanneur for the 2021 exhibition art basel - design miami. Each of the 100 sculptures encodes the population data of one country: age is encoded in rings from birth at the bottom to 100 years at the top; the width of each ring encodes the proportion of the population being of that age. each age pyramid reveals the particularities of a nation — the youth of chad, translated by the geometric perfection of its flared base that consistently slims all the way to the top or, conversely, the immigrant population of adults in the united arab emirates, which forms a prominent bump for the age range from 20 to 40 years resting on top of a fine base of emirati births. passing from one work to another proves to be a fascinating journey through time and history. the notches left by the war in cambodia or the second world war in many european countries act as evidence that evoke the immediate empathy of the visitor, who is suddenly part of a greater whole: a living, moving, global body. Source: designboom. mathieu lehanneur renders the earth's shifting populations into sculptural objects. 2021 Related: Also see our other entries about age pyramids.

Added by: Yvonne Jansen, sent by: Loren Madsen. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: age pyramid, data sculpture, demographics, small multiple