Coffee & Viz After Hours – Special Guest Alberto Cairo

Visual Trumpery - A Talk by Alberto Cairo

Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami and author of The Functional Art and The Truthful Art, brings his Visual Trumpery lecture tour to the NCSU Libraries. The very title of this talk, Visual Trumpery, is an example of its content. It is intended to trigger your ideological defenses and trick you into believing what is not so.

The English word “trumpery” means worthless nonsense, something that is showy and deceitful at the same time. Trumpery can occur in text, verbally, or visually. This non-partisan talk focuses on the visual, examining misleading charts, graphs, and data maps designed by individuals and organizations from across the political spectrum.

Cairo will use these examples to equip you with a solid understanding of “graphicacy,” the term he uses to refer to visual literacy, as he believes a literate, numerate, and graphicate citizenry is the best antidote for a world where trumpery runs rampant.

Following the talk, Cairo will sign copies of his book The Truthful Art which will be available for on-site purchase from the NC State Bookstores.