2021-NYU-ITP-Installation

Data Portraits

John Henry Thompson 2022

Portraits of Black Americans were an important part of the W.E. B. Du Bois’ Exhibit of the American Negro at the 1900s World’s Fair held in Paris. Along with many other artifacts of Black American progress, DuBois provided data art derived from statistically advanced sociological studies of “The Georgia Negro” and “The American Negro”.

“Data Portraits” amplifies the humanization of DuBois’ 1900 statistical compilations by pairing the data visualizations directly with portraits of Black Americans which also appeared in his Paris Expo exhibit. The viewers are superimposed in real time as abstract digital figures colored red, green and gold - the colors of black liberation.