CIRCA:TextArc
From CIRCA
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Contents |
Introduction to TextArc
TextArc is a program for visualizing the structure of text. It treats the text as a "data container" [Paul, 2007] and uses word frequency and pairings to develop a "visual index" [Kimport, 2006]. It draws the full text on an outer spiral, meaning that the entire text is always visible (although it is in a 1 point font, it can be read by hovering over a line). Every word is then repeated inside with text, with the word's appearances in the text pulling it into position (as though a "rubber band" was attached to each appearance [BBC article, 2002]). Selecting a word will show a line to every appearance of that word in the text. It can also show, in a different colour, lines to other words that are associated by proximity to that word. Additionally the text can 'play' the text by showing a orange line moving through each word in sequence. The visualization is highly interactive, allowing the user to move through the text and it's words to explore the text's structure. The overall display is also artistic in design (and has been shown in numerous art galleries and shows) and blurs the lines between tool, science, art, and text.
TextArc is shown reading Alice in Wonderland in orange with words associated to Alice glowing purple while the places the word Alice appears showing in green on the outer ring
Significance
"The first accurate cyber-accountant of literature that is
capable of analysing the content and structure of a text" * Influential: seen by thousands; inspired other text visualization projects, including a visualization of the history of information visualization, for an information visualization conference (InfoVis) * Boundaries between art - design - text - data - science * Highly interactive * Explores relationship between structure and meaning - but how much meaning is inherent in structure? * Importance is based on frequency, connection is based on co-location: privileges the word as discrete unit * Usefulness vs reading a Review
Lines radiated from the word King (in gray) and Queen (in orange) showing that both words chiefly appear in two sections of the book, although there are four prior occasions at regular intervals that mention the Queen: closer inspection reveals these to be foreshadowing mentions of the Queen by other characters.
Audience and Purpose
* Audience: people who need to filter a text quickly * To expose the structure implied by word distribution * To allow deeper interpretation based on structure * To expose timing and interconnection * "Suppose you have 5 minutes to understand a 500 page book with no index or chapters..."
Technologies
* TextArc is a Java applet, typically run in a web browser
* Java is an Operating System-independent programming language released by Sun in 1995
* Text is an input parameter
* Links to Project Gutenberg (1000s of texts as input)
* Other input could be:
o E-mails archives
o Legal documents
o Source code
o Financial news updates
o Genomics
History
TextArc was conceived, designed and developed by Bradford Paley. Bradford teaches interaction design as "cognitive engineering" at Columbia University. He is also a consultant for Wall Street, creating visualizations for stock traders. The program was originally conceived as a text analysis tool.
TextArc was released in 2002 (although a preview was shown at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2001). Since then it has been displayed in numerous locations, including:
* Columbia University * SIGGRAPH Art Show (Bradford Paley was a "working artist" at the show) * New York Public Library plasma screen * Whitney Museum of Modern Art ARTPORT gallery * The Japan Media Arts Festival in 2002, where it won the Grand Prize Non-Interactive Digital Art Award for a poster of TextArc displaying Alice in Wonderland * Places & Spaces Part 4: 2nd iteration, where TextArc displayed the text of "History of Science", in 2006 * Google Project Room at Chelsea Art Museum in 2010
References
Research Report by Katrina Kimport for the Transliteracies Project, 2006.
Paul, Christiane. “The Database as System and Cultural Form: Anatomies of Cultural Narratives.” Database Aesthetics: Art in the Age of Information Overflow. Ed. Victoria Vesner. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2007. 95-109.
