September 12, 2011 – Mountain Relief

I’ve always been drawn to relief maps in atlases. This is long before the days of simply going online to look at satellite and street views, etc. (which I also do). The relief view really came into it’s own in the early 1960’s. The 1963 atlas I recently picked up is a perfect example. This was the era of space exploration. When you opened up that atlas it was all about giving you the sense of excitement that John Glenn or Yuri Gagarin felt when they gazed down upon us.

The relief views are exaggerated and at times they almost feel hokey. That is until you drive down Route 550 towards Durango, Colorado. When you’re in those valleys where the mountains truly tower above you, the relief maps make all the more sense. Today, for the 2011 Project, it’s a piece about mountains. For the installation, I think this one will be hung next to my piece about rivers.

August 13, 2011 – Map of Hitchcock

If Hitchcock were a place, what would the map look like? In Hitchcock, Monaco is featured on the coast, Mt. Rushmore is in the center and some of the major cities include London and New York and of course San Francisco. Just north of San Francisco you’ll find the little town of Bodega Bay.

For many people, film is the first and perhaps only means they will have to travel to far-flung places. The “reality” that the movie industry creates about places is another issue. San Franciscans know that issue well and I have explored that in other pieces for the 2011 Project. All those issues aside, today we honor Alfred Hitchcock, born on this day in 1899. Hitchcock was one of the first filmmakers to really take us places.

July 19, 2011 – The Edge of the World

I cut up old maps for my art. Sometimes I get a hold of old maps that are just too good to put under the knife. If I really want to use them, I make some color copies. I don’t actually own any 17^th Century Maps, if I did, of course I wouldn’t be cutting those up. A few months back an anonymous neighbor left me a few postcard books of antique maps on my doorstep. Here are the results. I really love these old ones, particularly for all the mystery, exoticism and even occasional sea monsters that turn up in the edges of old maps. Living at what used to be considered the Edge of the World, I am yet to see any sea monsters or Amazons.