Mapping conversations: art and understanding

Artists and designers are using graphics to indicate relationships within data, to show social and political dynamics between individuals and within groups.This work can be applied to on-line conversations, to mapping geographical spaces, and to create technologies that foster interaction within actual physical spaces (dance for example). What levels of graphic abstraction can humans understand? Is it possible to provide access to different understandings about human relationships if we use graphics as our guide? What are effective uses of 2D and 3D images? I will provide examples of a number of artists' and designers' projects, including my own and several developed at The Banff Centre, that make use of graphics and creativity to interpret and interrupt the flow of data.