RESEARCH



Artistic Data Visualization: A Study on Context Revealed through the Exploration of Data as Phenomena - Focusing on Air Visualization








M.S. Thesis by Sungbaek Kim (2023)


[Abstract]

This paper is a study emphasizing the exploration of phenomena and context in artistic data visualization. It begins with a comprehensive literature review to present the current challenges faced by artistic data visualization in terms of defining its terminology and the criticisms it encounters between the tool and art. The core of this paper lies in overcoming these limitations by exploring ‘indexicality’ and ‘context’, highlighting their importance in understanding data as a phenomenon and uncovering its intrinsic causal relationships. By examining cases of data visualization in contemporary art, the paper emphasizes the role of artists in imparting both spacial and artistic context, and discusses the accumulation of context based on the DIKW pyramid. Ultimately, through a case study on air visualization, the paper argues the importance of understanding the essential causal relationships revealed by data as phenomena, going beyond merely exposing data patterns and providing artistic inspiration. It suggests the potential of context accumulation to reach the ’wisdom’ level in the knowledge hierarchy.