Oils, watercolors, charcoal. Those might be the usual materials used to create art, but for digital whiz Aaron Koblin, it’s data he’s interested in.

The technology lead of Google’s Creative Labs specializes in data visualization, using raw datasets and statistics to paint digital masterpieces. How’s that for giving ‘paint-by-numbers’ a completely new meaning?

But more than just fluff pieces, Koblin’s work depicts cultural trends and emergent patterns that try to make artistic sense of the world-at-large. Sounds heavy, but Koblin makes it look good.

In fact, they’re so good that some of the 28-year old’s art is part New York’s Museum of Modern Art permanent collection. Koblin’s deft digital touch has also led the acclaimed UK band Radiohead to seek him out to work on their music video for “House of Cards”. And the result was something of technological marvel—‘shot’ without cameras, the entire video’s in code.

TAXI speaks to the digital wünderkind on his fascination with data, the trouble with working with hard figures, and that dream job he currently has under his belt.

TAXI Hi Aaron, thanks for coming onboard TAXI. As an artist, you’re known for using complex data visualizations that make your work seem almost mathematical. How did you start getting into using data as your materials?

Aaron Koblin I’ve always been interested in technology, but specifically how we can use machines to engage the imagination. I started using computers when I was young and was fascinated by software development—creating rules and instructions that allow a computer to engage in a dialog with humans.

There have been a few great experimenters in this space such as Golan Levin, Ben Fry, and Casey Reas, all of whom have inspired me, and to a large extent taught me how to work with software.

I began with writing basic simulation software that would create complex patterns, and began to realize that many of these patterns could be found in the rich datasets that are quickly becoming an integral part of our lives.

I’m most interested in letting these patterns express themselves, and also in experiments that tease out some of the interesting stories that the data expresses.

TAXI How do you start on a new piece: with an end ‘image’ already in mind, or by first choosing what dataset to use?

Aaron Koblin It depends. Honestly I think my projects could be roughly divided into these two categories. If there’s a specific dataset that I’m interested in working with then I’ll create a series of experiments to look at what makes that data interesting.

The other works generally represent datasets that don’t necessarily exist yet, and have often involved creating that data by working with thousands of contributors (with or without their understanding of the project).

TAXI There are probably more limitations when working with datasets than other mediums. If an end product doesn’t sit well with you, do you airbrush the data or do you let the flaws shine through?

Aaron Koblin Usually it’s the flaws that are most interesting. The deviations from what you would expect can be the most engaging stories—places to begin thinking about the system, or the method for collecting the data that’s reflecting that system.

My general rule of thumb is that datasets can be filtered to illustrate an aspect, but this should be disclaimed, and data should never be fabricated—so, no airbrushing.

TAXI If you could extract a dataset from anything for use in your art, what would it be and how would you present it?

Aaron Koblin We’re constantly collecting more data, and it’s starting to be very relevant to our lives. We have the capacity to collect global insights that we couldn’t have imagined in the past, and it’s extremely exciting.

Yet I think it’s the tip of the iceberg. As we get more and more transparent with datasets about infrastructure and systems management I have a feeling we’ll see big changes in how we think about complexity and our relationship with our actions.

I think I’m most excited about these datasets that don’t exist yet (at least not publicly). Rich granular data from the distributed sensors that are becoming so prolific in everything we do, from GPS, to QR codes, to flow monitors on electrical and water systems, too many options to list.

TAXI Your work with Radiohead is astounding, to say the least. How did that idea come about—to shoot an entire video in code?

Aaron Koblin When I was a graduate student at UCLA in the Design|Media Arts department I was offered a research position at the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS).

To read the rest of this interview, click the 'Next' button at the top of this page.

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We were creating a system for scanning large spaces in 3D. Specifically, I was developing software to interpret data from laser scanners into visual display for onsite analysis. This code led to an art project with my friend Maxim Batalin, a brilliant engineer at UCLA.

We installed this live-scanning art project at CENS, which I showed to another friend of mine in LA, music video director James Frost. After discussions with Thom Yorke, James came to me and suggested that we put together a music video.

As a big Radiohead fan I was thrilled to oblige so I reached out to some of the best 3D scanning guys in the industry and the rest is history.

TAXI A couple of your pieces relied on crowdsourcing for data. Do you think collaboration with a huge amount of users is the future business and artistic model?

Aaron Koblin I think the power of the internet is undeniable and that human minds paired together create the most powerful force on earth.

That said, I think we’re going through a very early discovery phase trying to understand the ramifications of different modes of collaboration and participatory creation.

There are a multitude of ways to organize collaborative systems, each with inherent drawbacks and advantages—not all of them representing advances over traditional means of production—for art or business. So, in short, I think it’s a future model, but not the only model.

TAXI Besides being an artist, you’re also the technology lead of Google’s Creative Lab. What exactly does the lab churn out, and what does your role entail?

Aaron Koblin Yes, it’s a bit of a dream job. There’s a ton of data at Google and a plethora of tools and services to play with. This is basically my job, playing with these tools in interesting ways and sharing them with the public.

One of the projects I’ve been involved with is ChromeExperiments.com, a gallery of JavaScript and HTML5 demos, hacks, and art projects. Our group is often reminding the world that there’s a lot more to love about Google than just search, although we get to do some fun stuff with search too.

TAXI What are some of your future projects, both artistically and with Google?

Aaron Koblin I’m working on a new project that I’m pretty excited about. It’s a bit of a fusion of my personal artistic interests and Google.

It will be another music video, but not a music video at all. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s with some more awesome music and a couple of my hero programmers as collaborators.

TAXI What is the word you think will continue to reside in and reverberate through the creative industries over the next 10 years?

Aaron Koblin Data-driven.



Visit Aaron Koblin's website to see more of his data-driven work.