Comments on: Data, Conspiracy and Concept: Mark Lombardi http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/data-consipiracy-and-concept-mark-lombardi There is an art to evolution... Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:58:47 -0600 hourly 1 By: Data in Contemporary Art: Brian Jungen | blprnt.blg http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/data-consipiracy-and-concept-mark-lombardi/comment-page-1#comment-1283 Data in Contemporary Art: Brian Jungen | blprnt.blg Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:35:37 +0000 http://blog.blprnt.com/?p=653#comment-1283 [...] contemporary artists who use or have used data within their practice. A few months ago, I featured an article on Mark Lombardi, whose data-centric illustrations have found their way into the collections of many major art [...] [...] contemporary artists who use or have used data within their practice. A few months ago, I featured an article on Mark Lombardi, whose data-centric illustrations have found their way into the collections of many major art [...]

]]> By: Jer http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/data-consipiracy-and-concept-mark-lombardi/comment-page-1#comment-506 Jer Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:35:16 +0000 http://blog.blprnt.com/?p=653#comment-506 Good points, Greg. I think there is some temptation (at least on my part) to think of Lombardi as being 'naive' about data visualization and acting more completely in a conceptual realm, but in reality it's clear that he read and researched a lot about visualization techniques - in particular Tufte. As you said, it is the intention of the work that separates him from others working in similar areas. Art doesn't have Science's aversion towards subjectivity, and Lombardi, working free of any responsibility to be unbiased, was able to construct his work with a personal, almost editorial statement running underneath. This might be what separates visualization as science from visualization as art. Good points, Greg. I think there is some temptation (at least on my part) to think of Lombardi as being ‘naive’ about data visualization and acting more completely in a conceptual realm, but in reality it’s clear that he read and researched a lot about visualization techniques – in particular Tufte.

As you said, it is the intention of the work that separates him from others working in similar areas. Art doesn’t have Science’s aversion towards subjectivity, and Lombardi, working free of any responsibility to be unbiased, was able to construct his work with a personal, almost editorial statement running underneath.

This might be what separates visualization as science from visualization as art.

]]> By: Greg J. Smith http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/data-consipiracy-and-concept-mark-lombardi/comment-page-1#comment-504 Greg J. Smith Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:48:36 +0000 http://blog.blprnt.com/?p=653#comment-504 Nice post Jer, Lombardi is very important and oddly enough, not mentioned as much as other proto "visualization artists" like Bradford Paley or Ben Fry. I think what many people in the dataviz community could learn from Lombardi is that for him, visualization was a means to an end. He was actively engaged in an ongoing research project and visualization (drawing) was how he communicated it. I think the current manner in which we consume visualization projects has a certain "attention deficit disorder" quality to it. Everyone is hungry to see the next provocative "type" of visualization and then it is on to the next data set - strip mining is the term that comes to mind. Lombardi is a great example of a dedicated researcher! You are right though, what would he be doing if he had access to the New York Times API? Nice post Jer, Lombardi is very important and oddly enough, not mentioned as much as other proto “visualization artists” like Bradford Paley or Ben Fry. I think what many people in the dataviz community could learn from Lombardi is that for him, visualization was a means to an end. He was actively engaged in an ongoing research project and visualization (drawing) was how he communicated it. I think the current manner in which we consume visualization projects has a certain “attention deficit disorder” quality to it. Everyone is hungry to see the next provocative “type” of visualization and then it is on to the next data set – strip mining is the term that comes to mind. Lombardi is a great example of a dedicated researcher!

You are right though, what would he be doing if he had access to the New York Times API?

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