12 Inches of Weather

A series of algorithmic drawings that map 12 inches of weather on the human body by tracing perspiration, movement and time.

Weather is everyday and everywhere. For this project, I launched an artistic investigation by asking the question “Can a body (human, not planetary) have weather, too?” I used paper to collect the sweat on twelve inches of my body during running outdoors in hot weather. Then using an algorithm (a simple system), I hand-traced the contours of that sweat onto 1970’s computer paper using various colors of felt tip pen. The algorithm told me how many minutes to track each color.

Lead Artist

Catherine D’Ignazio

Exhibitions

• “World Memory: The Art of Data Visualization.” Boston Cyberarts Gallery. Boston, MA, 2019.
• “Re:Group.” Eyebeam Center for Art & Technology. New York, NY, 2010.

Publication

Included in Harmon, Katharine A., and Gayle Clemans. The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.

Location

Boston, MA