When Is Information Visualization Art? Determining the Critical Criteria

This paper initially examines the differences between functional and aesthetic forms of visualization for information visualization. The author then shows such a dual categorization to be ineffective as a critical scheme for evaluating artwork that utilizes comparable visualization techniques. Adopting Joline Blais and Jon Ippolito's classification of artistic production, the author argues for the use of “genre art” and “research art” as more suitable criteria for the analysis and assessment of such artwork.