1901 – Davenport's Physical Distributions

In 1901, biologist Charles Davenport "built" physical visualizations that show the distributions of features of objects and people. These visualizations were made out of the objects and the people themselves. The purpose was to explain the notion of statistical distribution to a lay audience. On the left image, seashells are piled up according to how many ribs they have. On the middle image, students are arranged in bins according to their height. On the right image, they are simply sorted. […]

In 1901, biologist Charles Davenport "built" physical visualizations that show the distributions of features of objects and people. These visualizations were made out of the objects and the people themselves. The purpose was to explain the notion of statistical distribution to a lay audience. On the left image, seashells are piled up according to how many ribs they have. On the middle image, students are arranged in bins according to their height. On the right image, they are simply sorted. Charles Davenport's research on eugenics may be controversial. Nevertheless, his explanation of statistical distributions has a clear pedagogical value. His examples also show that spatial arrangement is a key feature of data visualizations, and that a good spatial arrangement can augment cognition even without the use of abstract mappings and encodings. Source: Davenport (1901) The Statistical Study of Evolution.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: distribution, education, participatory, people, rearrangeable, rearrangement

1973 – Mazamet Ville Morte

In 1973, the French town of Mazamet had a population that closely matched the nationwide number of motor vehicule deaths across the previous year. A TV reporter decided to show all inhabitants lying on the floor to symbolize these deaths. Source: Marieaunet (2010) 1973 Mazamet ville morte.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Charles Nepote. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: deaths, participatory, people, rearrangement, single-datum

1980 – People on a Giant World Map

The World Game Workshop used a giant (basketball court size) world map to display population growth, distribution, and density, energy use, food and a host of other global variables and problems. 100 people were placed on the map, located where humanity is currently in the world, each one representing 1% of the global population. They were then placed in charge of their region and given the responsibility of solving the world’s problems. Sources: Post by Medard Gabel, Executive Director, […]

The World Game Workshop used a giant (basketball court size) world map to display population growth, distribution, and density, energy use, food and a host of other global variables and problems. 100 people were placed on the map, located where humanity is currently in the world, each one representing 1% of the global population. They were then placed in charge of their region and given the responsibility of solving the world’s problems. Sources: Post by Medard Gabel, Executive Director, World Game Institute, Global Solutions Lab. Images from https://designsciencelab.com/worldgame-2-0/. (archived version) Related: Also see our other entries on physical visualizations made of people.

Added by: Medard Gabel. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: cartographic, people, participatory, rearrangeable, large-scale, walkable

1991 – Münster Congestion Visualization

In order to encourage bus use, in 1991 the city of Münster, Germany created a poster that compares the space taken by 72 bicycles (left), 72 cars (middle), and a bus (right). This idea is not new. For example, the city of London has made a very similar poster in 1965. Thanks to Will Stahl-Timmins for pointing this out. Sources: Benjamin Starr (2014) How Much Space Do Cars Take? Cyclists Demonstrate How Bicycles Flight Congestion Image from visualnews.com

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: city, participatory, people, rearrangement, traffic, transportation

2008 – 100% City

Since 2008, the German theater group Rimini Protokoll organizes performances where they select 100 people in such a way that they form a representative sample of a given city, and then invites them on the stage. Each person briefly introduces themselves, after which everyone participates in a series of physical visualizations where each person takes the role of a data point. The first performance was titled 100% Berlin. Similar performances were then organized in 18 other cities between 2010 […]

Since 2008, the German theater group Rimini Protokoll organizes performances where they select 100 people in such a way that they form a representative sample of a given city, and then invites them on the stage. Each person briefly introduces themselves, after which everyone participates in a series of physical visualizations where each person takes the role of a data point. The first performance was titled 100% Berlin. Similar performances were then organized in 18 other cities between 2010 and 2019. Left image: response to the question: "who was born in Berlin?" (show 100% Berlin). Right image: response to the question: "how much did you spend yesterday?" (show 100% Paris). Sources: Jörn Hurtienne (2018) Possibilities of Human Data Embodiment: 100% City. Rimini Protokoll 100% City. Wikipedia (2020) Rimini Protokoll. Left photo by Rimini Protokoll (source). Right photo also by Rimini Protokoll (1:03:18 in this video). Related: Also see our other entries on participatory physical visualizations.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: city, participatory, people

2011 – Ursus Wehrli's Art of Clean Up

Ursus Wehrli, a Swiss comedian and artist, is known for his parodic art project called "Tidying up Art", where he rearranges well-known paintings in an orderly fashion (see his 2003 book and his 2006 TED Talk). In 2011, he started a project called "The Art of Clean Up" where he rearranges everyday objects and people. Sources: Maria Popova (2013) The Art of Cleanup: Ursus Wehrli Playfully Deconstructs and Reorders the Chaos of Life Chronicle Book (2013) Art of Clean Up Book Trailer (youtube […]

Ursus Wehrli, a Swiss comedian and artist, is known for his parodic art project called "Tidying up Art", where he rearranges well-known paintings in an orderly fashion (see his 2003 book and his 2006 TED Talk). In 2011, he started a project called "The Art of Clean Up" where he rearranges everyday objects and people. Sources: Maria Popova (2013) The Art of Cleanup: Ursus Wehrli Playfully Deconstructs and Reorders the Chaos of Life Chronicle Book (2013) Art of Clean Up Book Trailer (youtube video) Ursus Werhli (2006) Tidying up art (TED Talk) Images from cosmichouse.com, imgur.com, and design-milk.com Related: Also see our other entries on physical visualizations created by rearrangement.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: art, participatory, people, rearrangement

2020 – COVID-19 Deaths as Nails

An art installation in the Cathedral of Schwäbisch Gmünd (Germany) shows COVID-19 deaths as nails hammered into wooden cubes. More nails are added as the number of deaths increase. The text down the steps says "Fürchtet euch nicht", meaning "do not be afraid". Sources: Tweet from Friedrich Hart (@mxfh), Dec 9, 2020. SWR (2020) Schwäbisch Gmünd: 13.000 Nägel für Coronaopfer. Related: Also see our other entries on single-datum physical visualizations and on conveying deaths.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Friedrich Hart. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: covid-19, deaths, nails, people, single-datum