A Humane Turtle

I love books. I love reading books, experiencing the beauty that lies in the stories they tell. But I also love the mere availability of books, experiencing their visual and tactile presence. Yes, I am one of the people possibly cursed by bookstore owners because they like to sort their books by color or size (and yes, I did buy a few books just because I liked the cover).

So I’m always mesmerized when I see artists that use books as the base material for their sculptures. Here’s a list of book artists and cut/carved art works that I find especially beautiful. I found most of them via blog posts on My Modern Metropolis and Brain Pickings.

 

Nicholas Galanin: Faces

American artist Nicholas Galanin combines traditional and contemporary art in his work. With a Master’s degree in Indigenous Visual Arts from Massey University in New Zealand, he integrates indigenous culture into his work. The above works, he says, “retain the elegance of traditional masks, but their contemporary forms have an eeriness, a feeling of being there and not there – perhaps because of their pale color, their blurry, almost shrouded, features, and their seemingly sightless eyes. And, just as they seem to be materializing from the book’s pages, they also hover on the point of dissolution. There is an implication that they will never fully take form – resulting in a haunting sense of loss and longing.”

 

Wim Botha: The Human Condition

 

Wim Botha, a South-African artist, creates large-scale sculptural installations out of books, carved from dictionaries, bibles, encyclopedias, and also wood. He combines them with other everyday and symbolic objects, to create works with a whole new symbolic character. Very powerful artwork that I’d love to experience in person.

 

Kyle Kirkpatrick: Miniature People in Book Landscapes

On his profile, the UK-based artist Kyle Kirkpatrick states: “My practice is primarily concerned with the notion of the imagined landscape. I present man-made objects and natural materials simultaneously to form carefully and meticulously composed installation works. I capitalize on intrigue taking objects out of context reinventing their use, pushing the viewer to see beyond what I present before them.”

 

Guy Laramee: Book Landscapes

The artist from Montréal carves elaborate mountains out of big encyclopedias. He says: “Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS.”

 

Alexander Korzer-Robinson: Encyclopedic Storybook Art

I really like the approach that the British artist Alexander Korzer-Robinson has: he carefully cuts out parts of image-rich books like encyclopedias, so that what you see is a layered composition of the book’s illustration. A brilliant idea!

 

Brian Dettmer: Book Surgery

Having gushed about Korzer-Robinson, the Atlanta-based artist Brian Demetter uses a similar approach, but takes it to a whole new level. Images and words from within the book come to the fore; in addition, he shapes the whole book in such a way that it becomes a whole new entity. Simply stunning!

 

Su Blackwell: Scenic Storytelling

The London-based artist Su Blackwell creates incredibly beautiful artwork within the realm of fairy-tales and folklore. “For the cut-out illustrations,” she says, “I tend to lean towards young-girl characters, placing them in haunting, fragile settings, expressing the vulnerability of childhood, while also conveying a sense of childhood anxiety and wonder. There is a quiet melancholy in the work, depicted in the material used, and choice of subtle colour.”

 

Honorable Mention: Book Planters

Last, but not least, here’s an idea for a DIY book carving project: make planters out of books. There is a few tutorials around, for example at Green Wedding Shoes and Apartment Therapy. If you end up making some, let me know!

 

Last Thursday I hosted Oslo’s bi-monthly UX book club. The book we read for this meetup was “Envisioning Information” by Edward R. Tufte. This blog post is a summary, mostly written for my own benefit and therefore focusing on the parts that I found most interesting (Esteban has written another summary).

What is envisioned information?
A graphical or tabular display of data.

Why do we envision information?
We do so to reason about, communicate, document, and preserve knowledge.

What is the main problem we are facing?
The data we are dealing with is multi-dimensional, but we (mostly) have to represent it in 2D.

How can we “escape flatland” and the limitation of the 2D medium?
By increasing the number of dimensions and/or the data density shown in 2D. This is only possible with extensive compromise.

What techniques are there to escape flatland?

1. Small multiples:
   A series of small information slices, positioned within the eye span, that allow to compare at a glance. They are visually enforcing comparisons of changes.
2. Dimensionality and data compression:
   Dimensions can be added by e.g. the ordering of data entries, color,  spacing, …
3. Micro/macro displays:
   High-density designs that allow simultaneous local and global readings.
4. Average and variation of data:
   If working with vast quantities of data, it can be more useful to show means and variation within the data set rather than the data points themselves.

What are sins of information design?

1. Pridefully Obvious Presentation:
   The attention is put on the design (the data containers), not the data it represents.
2. Chartjunk:
   Cosmetic decoration that tries to compensate for otherwise dull design or lack of content. It often distorts the data and assumes the readers to be dumb and uncaring.
   “Clarity and simplicity are completely opposite simple-mindedness.” (p. 34)
   “High-information graphics [...] convey a spirit of quantitative depth and a sense of statistical integrity. Emanciated data-thin designs, in contrast, provoke suspicions – and rightfully so – about the quality of measurement and analysis.” (p.32)

Micro/Macro displays

And unconventional design strategy: “To clarify, add detail.” (p. 37)

Examples:

• Graphical: isometric map of midtown Manhattan
• Tabular: stem-and-leaf plots

Fine-textured graphics with high detail lead to personal micro-readings, they call for individual stories about the data. The vast complexity is organized through multiple and (often) hierarchical layers of contextual reading. That is, the same ink serves one than one informational purpose. Read on a macro-level, the (micro-level) data blurs into a gray shape and allows for a different reading.

“The more relevant information within the eyespan, the better.” (p. 50)
Context switching is disruptive, and users have to rely on visual memory. High-density designs, on the other hand, enable selective, narrated, and personalized readings. The control of information is given to the users.

“It is not how much empty space there is, but rather how it is used. It is not how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged.” (p. 50)
“Simpleness is another aesthetic preference, not an information display strategy, not a guide to clarity.” (p. 51)

Layering and Separation

When envisioning information, we want to show differences that make a difference. We can enforce that difference within the information if we consciously layer and separate it, visually stratifying various aspects of the data. Failure to differentiate the data leads to cluttered and incoherent displays filled with disinformation. “Confusion and clutter are failures of design, not attributes of information” (p.53).

1+1=3 or more

We need to be aware that elements interact, creating non-information patterns and texture. Negative areas of white space are visually activated.

What matters is the proper relationship among information layers (“proportion and harmony”). Layering of data often involves creating a hierarchy of visual effects, possibly matching an ordering in the information content.

Tips:

• Lighter colors will minimize incidental clutter.
• Avoid bold shapes, they promote vibration all over.
• Avoid surrounding words with little boxes.
• Be aware of grids!
  Strong grids take the focus away from the information. Gray grids, with a delicate line, almost always work; they promote a more accurate data reading. Grids should be muted relative to the data.
• Subtraction of weight (p.60): make your graphics appear lighter if you can (e.g. thinner lines for shading).

Color and Information

The first principle about using color is: “Above all, do not harm.” (p.81)

Uses of color:

• to label (color as noun)
• to measure (color as quantity)
• to represent or imitate reality (color as representation)
• to enliven or decorate (color as beauty)

Have good reasons for your color choices (more than just taste preferences).

• Do not use too many colors. More than 20-30 colors don’t just have less effect, they have negative effects.
• Mute unnecessary contrast.
• Don’t overuse bright, saturated colors. They have loud, unbearable effects when used over large areas. Use only small spots, on dull background. For two large areas of bright colors: it can work if you repeatedly intermingle one with the other.
• White with mixed bright colors produces unpleasant results. Prefer backgrounds in light gray or muted colors.
• Color palettes: prefer the use of colors from nature.
• Human cognitive processing gives considerable and often decisive weight to contour information. Make sure to use color (contours) for a purpose, not explaining something that is already obvious.
• Be aware of  ”Cognitive Contours”, colors/shapes appearing where there aren’t any.

Color for quantifying data:

Color is a natural quantifier, which we can perceive and distinct with an incredible fineness.

Value scales (by color brightness) are often used, because they are easy to remember. Rainbow scales are an alternative, but are hard to remember and thus need other cues to be able to interpret the data.

Any color coding of quantity is potentially sensitive to contextual effects. (i.e. the same color appears to be lighter on a darker background). These interactions are only very seldom wanted (i.e. using a combination of two colors for a line, to avoid having to introduce a third color). Also, translating color back to data is error-prone, as readers have varying color perception.

Therefore: Don’t rely on color as the only way to send your message. Use multiple signals, redundant and partially overlapping methods. But make sure that there is a need for the redundant signal, and that you choose the appropriate redundancy.

A Surprising Highlight

There was one surprising moment of a seemingly objective data representation deliberately pushing you towards one way of thinking: In a court case against John Gotti, an alleged mafia leader, the below chart was used to show the criminal records of prosecution witnesses. The chart was crucial evidence in the acquittal of Mr. Gotti.

The crime list is ordered in such a way that the worst crimes are at the top and the bottom of the list. The marks are large and bold; they dominate the grid and make it almost impossible to believe that only 37% of the possible combinations are actually marked.

Opinion

The book is a highly recommended read. The summary really only makes sense when seeing all the examples that Tufte presents in the book. I can see myself going back re-reading various sections of the book for various purposes. It will certainly be useful information to have in mind when creating UI. But it will also come in handy when creating information material for non-profit work.

Also, did you notice that I changed the blog’s font to serif?

 

T. Colin Campbell in The China Study:

I talked to so many people who say, “I may not live as long as you health nuts, but I sure am going to enjoy the time I have by eating steaks whenever I want, smoking if I so choose and doing anything else that I want.” I grew up with these people, went to school with these people and made great friends with these people. Not long ago, one of my best friends suffered a difficult surgery for cancer and spent his last years paralyzed in a nursing home. During the many visits I made to the nursing home, I never failed to come away with a deep appreciation for the health I still possess in my old age. It was not uncommon for me to go to the nursing home to visit my friend and hear that one of the new patients in the home was someone whom my friend and I knew from our earlier days. Too often, they had Alzheimer’s and were housed in a special section of the facility.

The enjoyment of life, especially the second half of life, is greatly compromised if we can’t see, if we can’t think, if our kidneys don’t work or if our bones are broken or fragile. I, for one, hope that I am able to fully enjoy not only the time in the present, but also the time in the future, with good health and independence.

…

So, what is my prescription for good health? In short, it is about the multiple health benefits of consuming plant-based foods, and the largely unappreciated health dangers of consuming animal-based foods, including all types of meat, dairy and eggs. I did not begin with preconceived ideas, philosophical or otherwise, to prove the worthiness of plant-based diets. I started at the opposite end of the spectrum: as a meat-loving dairy farmer in my personal life and an “establishment” scientist in my professional life. I even used to lament the views of vegetarians as I taught nutritional biochemistry to pre-med students.

My only interest now is to explain the scientific basis for my views in the clearest way possible. Changing dietary practices will only occur and be maintained when people believe the evidence and experience the benefits. People decide what to eat for a number of reasons, health considerations being only one. My task is only to present the scientific evidence in a form that can be understood. The rest is up to you.

 

In certain areas of my life, I actively seek out solitude. Especially for someone in my line of work, solitude is, more or less, an inevitable circumstance. Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person’s heart and dissolve it. You could see it, too, as a kind of double-edged sword. It protects me, but at the same time steadily cuts away at me from the inside. I think in my own way I’m aware of this danger – probably through experience – and that’s why I’ve had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself to the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and to put it in perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction.

Let me be more specific.

When  I’m criticized unjustly (from my viewpoint, at least), or when someone I’m sure will understand me doesn’t, I go running for a little longer than usual. By running a little longer it’s like I can physically exhaust that portion of my discontent.

Haruki Murakami – What I talk about when I talk about running

I just finished reading ‘Persepolis‘, an autobiographic graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. The (US) English version consists of two books: the first one describes her childhood in Iran, and the second one focuses on her 4 years in exile in Austria, and her return to Iran after that.

I had gotten the books from my elder brother Martin as a Christmas present over a year ago. For some reason or another, they ended up in my bookshelf at my parent’s place, unread. It was only recently that they attracted my attention again. I had just finished a course at university, and my assistant professor, an Iranian, invited all her students out for a drink. We ended up talking about Iran. She told us about her career as a skier (having to disguise as a boy to be able to have male trainers) and about the dangers of wearing green, the color of the opposition (“a green wristband almost got me killed once”).

So when I recently got back to Austria, I knew it was time to pay attention to those books. And reading Marjane’s story turned out to be a real treat. The book not only provided insights into the history of Iran and the way of living around heavy restrictions, but was also an fun read. The plain, yet powerful style of the drawings made it possible to convey sad and shocking details, as well as funny incidents. Besides, Marjane doesn’t mince matters, may she talk about her landlord’s tea (“horse piss from a horse face”) or about her trying to pee while standing.

Being Austrian, her stories about being made a “third worlder” in Austria left a bitter aftertaste. I knew that Austria isn’t exactly a poster child when it comes to policy on foreigners, but this very personal characterization of the situation made this become even more clear.

The book was made into an animated movie in 2007, and I am now looking forward to seeing that version of the story. On a side note, I learned that the word ‘Bildungsroman’ is used in English, too.