Visualizing Culture

Abstract

Data visualization has historically been a tool used by science, business, and the military. In recent years, however, it has blossomed into a medium for journalism, art, and self-expression. I'll discuss a series of work, with Fernanda Viegas, that shows how visualization can be used by scientists and non-scientists alike as a way to tell stories and explore our culture.

bio:
Martin Wattenberg is a computer scientist and artist. He is a co- leader, with Fernanda Viégas, of Google's "Big Picture" data visualization group.

Before joining Google, he and Viégas founded Flowing Media, Inc., a visualization studio focused on media and consumer-oriented projects. Prior to Flowing Media, they led IBM’s Visual Communication Lab, where they created the ground-breaking public visualization platform Many Eyes. From 2005 to 2010, Wattenberg founded and managed IBM's Visual Communication Lab, exploring new forms of visualization and how they can enable better collaboration. A key project was Many Eyes (http://www.many-eyes.com), an experiment in open, public data visualization and analysis.

Prior to joining IBM, Wattenberg was the Director of Research and Development at SmartMoney.com, a joint venture of Dow Jones and Hearst. His work at SmartMoney included the groundbreaking Map of the Market.

Wattenberg is known for his visualization-based artwork, which has been exhibited in venues such as the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Wattenberg holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from U.C. Berkeley. He lives in Winchester, Massachusetts.