The document discusses physical visualizations, emphasizing their role in transforming data into tangible experiences through art and memorial installations. It highlights audience interactions and emotional responses, noting that immersive environments enhance comprehension of historical data. The authors suggest further exploration into the distinct qualities of physical visualizations compared to digital formats.

1. Physical Visualizations:
Turning Data into Space
Michael Haley Goldman
Sara Pitcairn

2. Please contact us to continue
the conversation:
mhaleygoldman@ushmm.org
sarapitcairn@ushmm.org

3. What do we mean by physical visualizations?

4. '1.8', 2015 by Janet Echelman
Photographed by Ron Cogswell

5. The Book of Names
Photographed by Destructive Compliments

6. Untitled (Names on the 9/11 Memorial Fountain
Photographed by Sanderslelli

7. National Memorial for Peace and Justice Montgomery (AL) 2019
Photographed by Ron Cogswell

8. Field of Empty Chairs, Oklahoma City National Memorial
Photographed by KenLund

9. There are many areas that have explored some form
of physical visualization:
- Art as physical visualization
- Memorial installations as physical visualization
- Memorial spaces as physical visualization

10. Our experience with physical visualization in our
galleries:
- One Thousand Seventy-eight Blue Skies
- Liquidation

11. One Thousand Seventy-eight Blue Skies installation by Anton Kusters
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photographer: Joel Mason-Gaines

12. Liquidation
Original Design by Sarah Maravetz and Gillian McCallion

13. These physical spaces embody historical data sets.
How do visitors understand the data within them?

15. Themes from audience responses:
- Curiosity and interaction
- Different perspective or frame of reference
- Affective understanding, feeling the data

16. What did we learn?

17. Presence in a space or immersive environment
impacts how audiences experience data

18. Design choices influence audience understanding

19. Physical visualizations can link the affective
and intellectual experiences of audiences

20. Future work: what are the unique qualities of
physical, rather than screen- or print-based,
visualizations?