Paula Scher's Tsunami Map

Paula Scher's map, "Tsunami", acrylic on canvas, 2006. 113.5 x 92 in.

“These are absolutely, one hundred percent inaccurate,” Paula Scher declares of her colossal map paintings. Then, after a pause: “But not on purpose.” Another pause: they’re actually “sort of right.” And therein lies their bracing paradox. Scher’s sites—Manhattan, Israel, and India among them—are instantly recognizable. Scanning the allover expanse of the canvases, you might easily pick out the swath of Central Park, the void of the Dead Sea, the dot of Mumbai. But they are also highly interpretive. She makes them with brush and paint, rather than keyboard and printer. Most importantly, she makes them in rebellion against what she calls the excess of “useless information” in the information age. The profusion of text—words spilling off landmasses and jutting or swirling out to sea—recalls the cacophonous crawls of a cable news broadcast. Tsunami suggests its subject compositionally, its texts running in a radiating circle around the eye of the ruinous wave.

Influence Map of Marian Bantjes

This is a link to a map Canadian type and lettering artist, Marian Bantjes made in August of 2006 to show all of her significant artistic influences to date. While you are at it, you may want to check out the rest of Marian's site to see all of her amazing typographical works. She is indeed prolific and has a lot to say about design, typography and inspiration.

South London Arteries

By British artist Susan Stockwell, 2002

Map Circle

Constructions with map pieces, by Chris Kenny, 2007

Adventures in Map Making

Maps convey information and tell stories. They invite discovery, exploration and surprise. And they provide a method to navigate your way through unfamiliar territories. Creative problem solving can be a voyage into the unknown where you travel without a map in uncharted waters. And beginning any new artistic endeavor is not without risk, as you venture off this grid to test the waters, but the rewards can be great. Making maps of these new territories are their own best adventures. Bon Voyage!

“A road map always tells you everything except how to refold it”.
- Anonymous

Typewriter Map Symbols

Manhattan Neighborhood Map

London Calling

London's Kerning poster designed for the ISTD exhibition "My London/My City" by NB:Studio in London.

Paris Map

Map by artist Juliette Borda.

You Are Here

This letterpress-printed map published by artist Julie Chen of Flying Fish Press in California, unfolds in a circular manner as if it were a trail you might be following. It is enclosed in a self-contained box with a plexiglas lid and a small toy compass embedded.