For those of you that are new to my blog allow me to take this moment to formally introduce myself. My name is Jeff. I am currently a 3rd year Digital Media student at York University in Canada. I have vast interest in Art, Music, Design, Camping and a whole bunch of other stuff! But I digress...
I have been asked by my prof to write a brief post on a new course I'm taking called FACS 3935: Art, and the Database. So along with maintaining this blog I will also intermittently add new information and work that I've created in the context of the class.
So with the "grand-scheme" in mind this new course tries to analyze databases as they are used within New Media Art. And as always before gaining an understanding of what that all means we have to define what a database is. Well, a database (in essence) may be considered as a structure which simply collects and stores data. Libraries, Transit Systems, Banks, Phones, Music Players...all of these things incorporate databases in order to function one way or the other. So I guess some questions are: are there New Media artforms that exist which incorporate databases? If so, how can we analyze/better analyze such forms of art? How can contemporary artists begin to create such forms of art?
Some of the concepts that will be tackled in class include (but are not limited to):
- Gain a deeper understanding of the use of database technology in the creation of infographics, data visualizations, and data art practices.
- Consider the roles database technology plays within a larger cultural, social, political and economic context.
- Critically engage with data in the creation of both an infographic and a data art project.
Overall I think that if used efficiently and represented properly data can become very beautiful in art. one such artist taht achieves this is David McCandless. Visit the website Information is Beautiful to see more of his work as well as more of the work, concepts and ideas I will hopefully be conveying in this class.
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