Ingo Gunther spent the past 25 years of his life making globes.
Gunther, an artist and journalist from Germany, created the Worldprocessor project, which communicates international data-driven stories using more than 300 individual globes.
“I’ve seen so many globes that it’s a miracle I’m not completely tired of them yet,” Gunther said.
Based in New York City, the artist’s sculptures are on display all around the world.
In 1987 Gunther received accreditation as a correspondent at the United Nations as a result of his role in the evaluation and interpretation of satellite data gathered from political and military crisis zones, according to his biography.
The following year he developed an obsession for creating globes that consumed his entire life, he said.
“My main interest was communicating data that wasn’t normally ‘mappable’ or easily quantified,” Gunther said.
One globe communicated statistical information on shark attacks from around the world.
Red, jagged lines protruding from country borders represented the number and frequency of shark attacks reported.
Gunther said each sphere in his collection took him at least two weeks to create.
“It gives you another perspective on things that otherwise are only accessible through long lists or through the mainstream media,” he said.
The installment will be on display at the Cyberinfrastructure Building until Friday.
Professor Katy Borner recruited Gunther to participate in the speaker series.
“Networks spanning across populations and the entire globe exist at many different levels of abstractions,” she said. “And it’s all depicted on the surface of these globes in extremely interesting ways.”
An exhibition of Gunther’s work will be on display at the CIB until Friday.
Gunther said he doesn’t sell his artwork.
“Worldprocessor is an art piece, but at the same time it is an effective educational tool that provides scientific ideas and information for everyone,” he said.
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