Abstract
Network analysis is a popular method in many academic disciplines. A key feature of the proliferation of this network paradigm are illustrations and visualizations.
The simplifying visual language of nodes and links makes it possible to unify heterogeneous types of interactions and blurs the lines between networks that are physical, virtual, social or mechanical. An important role also plays the attractiveness of these visualizations and their self-proving nature (the initial model is sometimes misinterpreted as a proof).
Networks are not only a purposeful visualization, they are becoming a visual symbol of interdisciplinarity or progress. The fact that they are present in the contemporary art, cinema and advertising suggests that they are more and more rooted in our visual culture and display the potential to become the symbol of the 21. century.