Fernanda Bertini Viégas and Martin Wattenberg, Wind Map, 2012.
A new exhibition at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena will explore how contemporary art, design and culture respond to big data’s influence on everyday life. The show, titled “Seeing the Unseeable: Data, Design, Art,” opens Sept. 19 at the college’s Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery.
Featuring works by more than 16 leading data visualization artists and designers, the exhibition is part of Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a regional arts event involving more than 70 exhibitions across Southern California. It will run through Feb. 15, 2025, with free admission to the public.
ArtCenter President Karen Hofmann said the exhibition examines a critical cultural moment of the data divide, namely emphasizing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities, “as well as who data is collected by and how it is used.”
The show focuses on concepts including Data Humanism, Invisible Data and Data Environments. It showcases diverse approaches to visualizing and interpreting large datasets through artistic mediums, reflecting the evolution of data visualization since the 1990s.
Featured artists include Refik Anadol, known for AI-generated data paintings, and Mimi Ọnụọha, whose work highlights overlooked communities. Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s large-scale sculpture explores weather systems, while Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg’s piece depicts real-time U.S. wind patterns. Giorgia Lupi, who coined the term Data Humanism, is represented by a large-scale installation created with Ehren Shorday.
“For these artists, data serves as a prompt, much like a language, to communicate with the audience through novel means of discourse and experimentation,” Hofmann said.
Stephen Nowlin, the exhibition’s co-curator and founding director of ArtCenter’s Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, said it aims to open a dialogue on issues ranging from the vastness and capabilities of data systems to the personal, social and humanitarian consequences of data collection and technologies.
“Recognizing that data visualization has become an influential force in contemporary art and design, ‘Seeing the Unseeable: Data, Design, Art’ hopes to transform visual literacy in the global landscape,” Nowlin said.
The exhibition is organized by Julie Joyce, director of ArtCenter Galleries, Nowlin, and Christina Valentine, curator of ArtCenter Galleries.
Visitors can view the exhibition Wednesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Williamson Gallery, located at 1700 Lida Street in Pasadena. Free parking is available. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit https://www.artcenter.edu/connect/college-news/PST-seeing-the-unseeable-data-Design-Art.html.
Founded in 1930, ArtCenter College of Design has a long history of impact on popular culture and addressing important societal issues through art and design education.
