Old Goriot, 12.75″ diameter, ink on chart paper

Text from classic works of literature is converted to 8-bit binary strings and plotted in ink on chart paper. Although the text content is visualized using a method or “algorithm” and therefore readable, the meaning remains illegible and the viewer is rendered illiterate.

The chart papers, as material, were given to me and as I have since discovered were used to record changes over a 24hr period for conditions such as humidity, pressure, or temperature. Most industries today that once used this technology have swapped out for digital equipment.

Given the chart papers record a day in sequence of hours, I start the plotting of the binary strings at 12am.

See a selected catalog of 8-Bit Classics (PDF)