[iDC] Data Literacy and Cultural Analytics

[Charles Turner]

On Oct 12, 2011, at 2:54 AM, Lev Manovich wrote:

> We developed a system which uses Matlab to extract 400 features, and
> we use ImagePlot to visualize the results.

The thing that interests me is the Matlab part of this. Likely these 400 "features" were "extracted" by DSP algorithms. That's pretty text book for "image processing," but is a work of visual art congruent with an "image"? To a person with a hammer... 

As an alternative paradigm, I might point to the work of Guerino Mazzola in musical performance analysis as suggestive of a way out of this "tools trap":

Flow, Gesture and Spaces in Free Jazz:
<http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Gesture-Spaces-Free-Jazz/dp/354092194X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318536917&sr=1-4>

Musical Performance: A Comprehensive Approach: Theory, Analytical Tools, and Case Studies:
<http://www.amazon.com/Musical-Performance-Comprehensive-Analytical-Computational/dp/3642118372/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318537128&sr=1-6>

It'd be great to move away from statistical approaches to analysis, especially for big data sets, and really try to theorize about the subject matter.

Guerino's in Minnesota still, I think, and loves cross-disciplinary projects. Invite him to UCSD, Lev!

Best wishes, Charles