Mapping in Context ...

"Maps are like milk: their information is perishable, and it is wise to check the date." 

Mark Monmonier, How to lie with maps

Maps are subjective. As explained by Maddie Pethick (2012) maps can be influenced greatly by their creator. In the 1600s Britain was a lot more religious than it is now. The heavy influence in this can be seen in maps from this time period as there are a lot more churches and other religious elements present. 

Mercator. (1569). Mercator World Map.

The map above is the Mercator projection which was developed in 1569 by Geradus Mercator as a navigation tool. This map is not a true representation of the world as Europe is said to be much larger than it actually is. In addition to this Mercator was from Belgium which suggests that this map is politically bias towards Europe.

Arno Peter. (1974). The Peters Projection World Map.

This map is Peter's map which was created using area accurately. It was created as a non-bias alternative to the Mercator map and shows third world countries more accurately in size in comparison to the Eurasian and North American areas, which were enlarged in Mercator's version. However Peter's map still falls under critique as it is difficult to create a flat map of the spherical world and so is still distorted.

Matt T. Rosenberg. (unknown). 

Interpretations of the World Map

Free World Maps. (2013). 

The map above is a political view of the world. It is clear to see that Asia is much larger than in Peter's map which shows area accuracy. North America is also made to appear larger than it is. This types of maps influence the viewers opinion on how large these areas actually are. As size can be related to importance, this is an indirect way of making these areas seem more important in terms of the world. This map also shows the continents in bold, large text thus emphasising the importance of the continents as a whole rather than individual countries.

Osama Hajjaj. (unknown).

Osama Hajjaj created the map shown above. The map is not accurate in relation to area size of each country however it is not meant to be representing each countries true size, it is about their stereotypes. I really like this map, as I do think of a lot of the things illustrated when I think about certain countries, e.g a mini when thinking of the U.K and vodka when thinking about Russia. 

Unknown. (2010). 

To add to the political theme of mapping, I found this map which uses typography to illustrate the ignorant stereotypes associated with each country. I like the simplicity of this map and its effectiveness. 

Michael Thompsett. (unknown). 

I really enjoyed looking at the maps which involve typography and so I looked further into this style. I particularly like the style of this map created by Michael Thompsett. Although it could be argued that using larger type for certain countries is politically bias, I disagree and think that it shows the size of these countries. The style of the piece would not have worked as well if accuracy in sizing each area was made the priority of the image.

London Underground

Harry Beck. (1933). 

The map of the London underground was created by Harry Beck who based the idea on a circuit diagram. The simplicity of the map has influenced many maps all over the world. The map however is not accurate in terms of distance. An accurate map of London looks like the one below:

Unknown. (2008).

This map is much more complicated than the map of the underground that is used now. The circuit layout is easy to follow and each line is also easy to locate. This example shows the importance of ease of use over accuracy in terms of distances.

 The Great Bear

This image was created by Simon Patterson and is an altered version of the London Tube map. This type of art is called appropriation,whereby art is borrowed from an existing piece of work. It contains names instead of engineers, philosophers, explorers, planets, journalists, footballers, musicians, film actors, saints, Italian artists, sinologues, comedians and 'Louis' (French kings). The Great Bear connects each type of person through their particular coloured line and the points of intersect represent those who are associated with more than one area. This idea of mapping involves the connections between individuals or types of people and how they can link into other areas. By laying out the piece in the form of a map it is easy to follow the lines of connection.

Images

Top: Simon Patterson. (1992).

Bottom: Simon Patterson. (1992). 

Gill MacDonald. (1914).

The city is shown here and is a more vibrant approach to a London Tube map. Each pagoda represents a tube station and there are also landmarks present. The map is a very different approach to that of Harry Beck which is very scientific in comparison to the illustrative nature of this piece.

Stephen Walters

Stephen Walters. (2008).

I love the personal nature of this piece, The Island. The artist grew up in London and has included details of his life in this map. I like that the influences and events of his life have been mapped. I also think that the doodle like drawing style of this image looks more personal as it looks like a quick sketch that the artist has drawn.

The image below was also drawn by Stephen Walters but represents Liverpool instead of London. As well as including famous landmarks the piece also contains opinions and political references from the artist. A landmark of Kirkdale prison is stated as being "the worst prison in the world". The noted logo of "The Sun" newspaper logo which is tarnished, represents the Hillsborough tragedy and the hatred that Liverpudlians therefore have for the paper. Personal maps such as these are an interesting and different way of learning facts and opinions about the individual who has created them.

Stephen Walters. (2008-9).

Alternative Types of Mapping

Family Trees

Willbur Smith. (unknown).

The image above is an example of the classic style of a family tree which shows how bloodlines are mapped. The characters are fictional and are from a series of books known as The Courtney Series by Wilbur Smith. It is clear to see how the family history has developed over time. This style of mapping is very similar to the circuit style of the London Tube maps as each link is clear and follows a certain path with connects it to the next relative. 

Below is a different style of family tree whereby it does not follow the same geometric approach as the classic style. However it is still clear which line flows to each relative, thus it still following the mapping idea.

Giovan Battista Carpi. (1994). 

Jeffrey Vallance. (2008).

This piece shows the degrees of separation. The branches from the tree make it easy to follow each link and indicate the connection between each stage in the map. The illustrative style of this type of mapping is similar to that of Stephen Walters with the majority of content being text. It also has a quickly sketched feel to it, like Stephen Walters work.

Scars

NHS (2012) define a scar as a mark that is left on the skin after a wound or an injury to the surface of the skin has healed.

A scar is a map of distress that has happened to the body and shows how it has repaired itself. Every scar has a story and gives us some information on what might have happened to the individual possessing the scar. For example a contracture scar is usually formed from a burn, thus mapping out part of someones life and informing us that they were involved in the event.

Ryan Benharris. (2012).

Sagmeister

A G Artin. (unknown).

Stefan Sagmeister is an Austrian graphic designer who famously used his body as his canvas. He scarred his body with a map of his ideas and designs. 

Palm Reading


The lines on the palm of a person's hand also form a map. Spiritualists believe that by reading someone's palm you are able to see the journey that their life will take and are able to identify characteristics and even health problems that a person possesses.

almightybunny. (unknown).

Palm reading is known as palmistry and chiromnacy. Ellie Crystal (2012) explains that the art of palmistry is said to have originated from Indian more than 5000 years ago and then found its way to western countries. It can be seen from the image above that each line represents something different about the person. The dominant hand is read as in some traditions the other hand is believed to hold information about the past life. Once lines are formed they remain on the hand for life and new ones develop as the person journeys through life, thus creating a map of the persons life, some of which has already been lived but also their future.

Ellie Crystal. (2012). 

My Map

1: Life Line

2: Head Line (Education)

3: Heart Line (Marriage, Relationships)

4: Girdle of Venus (Empath)

5: Girdle of Venus in the shape of a "V" (Homosexual)

6: Sun (Apollo) Line (Creative, Metaphysics, Health)

7: Mercury Line (Communication, Travel)

8: Fate (Career) Line - Goes from the Wrist Upward

Simone White (2013)

I decided to read my own palm to see how true the theory is. I first looked at the life line. My life line is strong and suggests that my general well being is good-so far in my life this is true. My head line which represents my education has a small break in it at the beginning which could represent my break from leaving school and finally doing my degree. The line then continues to be strong, hopefully suggesting that I will continue my education throughout my life. The heart line on my hand is very thin to start with which possible suggests my lack of relationships in my teenage years and my lack of visible emotion. However as the line continues it is strong and thick suggesting how my emotions have developed and showing my long term relationship and its longevity. 

Palmistry is very subjective though and people will believe the information that fits with their characteristics or their life experiences. It is similar to the idea of astrology, that people believe what relates to them.

Order and Chaos

Order relates to things that are organised, regular and that follow some sort of routine. 

Chaos relates to anarchy, a lack of structure and disorder.

Organised chaos????

Can they exist together? 

Some maps show ordered chaos as they show a system that has order although they also map chaos. William Hogarth's "Four Prints of an Election" shows how they exist together.

William Hogarth. (1755). 

I also found another example which shows a map in a more traditional form thus showing order. However the natural chaos and bustling atmosphere of London can clearly be seen in Famille Summerbelle's "London/UK".

Famille Summerbelle. (unknown).