Monday 26 October 2009

Maps representing the real and imaginary



Situationist Guy Debord's psychogeographic map of Paris called "The Naked City" which took its name from the detective film of the same name. The intention was to give an erotic and charged uncovering of the hidden parts of the city, areas which hadn't been homogenised and sanitised by commercialism in 1957, when the map was made. The idea was to simulate the sleuth work of the detectives in the film and to allow the mapreader to wander and gain a different ambience suggested by the atmosphere of the map which employs the method of reappropriation of existing media called détournement.



Craig Ward's "The World on a Plate" for the Economist – a typographic map of the globe using letterpress techniques. Click his name to see his website "Words Are Pictures"



Saul Steinberg's "View of the World from 9th Avenue" showing a New York-centric focal point.



Chinese Empire map of the world, showing the Empire as the largest area.


Maps of Discovery

April Fool Typographic Island


Humorous symbolism in the form of visual and verbal punning – 'Geographical Guide to a Man's Heart with Obstacles and Entrances Clearly Marked' and 'Geographical Guide to a Woman's Heart Emphasizing Points of Interest to the Romantic Traveler' both by Jo Lowrey


C F Korten's metaphoric maps of land use in Michigan


More metaphorical and metaphysical mapping in the globes of Charles Avery. See his project called The Islanders, a fictional location with narratives and characters and creatures conjured from his imagination.



Use of different planes of vision... Aerial view mixed with axonometric. Symbolic mixed with figurative. Also early use of a key.




Antonio Petrucelli's mixture of the factual and distorted reality, again using aerial and landscape view.



Great fictional placename

Via here

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