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Since I published Decolonizing Data Viz a month ago, I've seen many people point out historical viz that has not been included in the traditional white male canon. Here's a thread of some that others have passed to me, starting with my original post https://stephanieevergreen.com/decolonizing-data-viz/
Demia Wright sent me to Twisted https://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Tangled-History-Black-Culture/dp/0062966723 which talks about how fractals have been used in hair patterns of Black women way before they were “discovered” by white Europeans
Hamish Robertson brought up how the "violence of data viz and modernity can be seen in some of the Holocaust data imagery e.g. 'Jew-free' maps of Eastern Europe." I don't have the stomach to search for these images, sorry. But this is a great point about this field's history.
In last night's talk by @DataRemixed, people jumped into the chat to help fill in his gaps about historical dataviz and this resource showed up as further reading on the Incan khipus https://khipukamayuq.fas.harvard.edu/
In our talk on Indigenous Data Viz, someone in the audience commented on how their Hmong ancestors used fabric patterns to encode stories and maps. Here's just one: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/maps/hmong-story-cloth/
In that same talk, Mark Parman (Cherokee) said his viz is sometimes as simple as a % with the Cherokee word for "yes" or "no" and someone in the audience expressed gratitude because they speak Arabic, another language that really values the written word.
Adding to this thread as I learn more:
@sana_wilder shared this example of the Pakistani practice of encoding data in embroidery. Phulkari work has been around for at least 2000 years. https://www.jai-pur.com/journal_entry/the-fading-art-of-phulkari/
@sana_wilder shared this example of the Pakistani practice of encoding data in embroidery. Phulkari work has been around for at least 2000 years. https://www.jai-pur.com/journal_entry/the-fading-art-of-phulkari/
Meanwhile, this stuff was written by Stephen Few, an elder revered by many in the dataviz world
(sent to me by someone who understandably doesn't want to deal with blowback)
(sent to me by someone who understandably doesn't want to deal with blowback)
This example, via @simoneb_, of beadwork from South African Zulu artisans, encodes data in the patterns and colors chosen. https://twitter.com/womensart1/status/1361281381121351687
More details on Zulu beadwork here: https://zulubeadculture.weebly.com/symbols-and-meanings.html
Similarly, Julie Jaramillo pointed to how cornrows encoded maps for escape routes for enslaved people https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-cornrows-were-used-as-an-escape-map-from-slavery-across-south-america
Ian Green sent me photos of the OG data viz - paintings from Chavet's Cave. At @OutlierConf , Nigel Holmes discussed these & said though it may be cliché to refer to these as the OG dataviz, it is TRUE.
