Dr. Greg Matthews, Associate Professor and Director for Data Science at Loyola University, will discuss the historical importance of context and technology in art. He argues that “Data Art” is the next logical step for the art world and discusses how people can get involved in making data art. 

According to Dr. Matthews, “Artists throughout history have created art that is a reflection of the society that they are living in and experiencing.  One of the most dominating features of the society we are currently living in is the massive amount of data that is continuously being collected; we live in a big data world.  It is natural then that artists would begin to reflect on this aspect of society and incorporate data into their art.  In this talk, I give a brief history of technology and data in art followed by a summary of data art from the 21st century.”