See this entire article (2mb PDF) here.

In the Visual Fields section of CP 56 Denis Wood considers artists Lilla LoCurto and Bill Outcault and their work projecting and mapping the human body. This work, “at once so close to that of mapmakers and at the same time so completely alien, forces us to confront afresh the bizarre, distorted, multiperspectival fact of the map, and so refresh our own self-image.”

“In 1996 LoCurto and Outcault attended a show about Buckminster Fuller’s work where his icosahedral projection of the world hit them as something of an epiphany, revealing for them the sculptural implications of a map. “It was probably,” LoCurto and Outcault have written:

… the simplicity of his projection that made us understand what mechanics were involved but, like most people, we’d never really thought too much about how a map originated from a three dimensional surface. We saw connections between this and the artistic problem of rendering a three dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface as well as with the Cubist and Futurist idea of simultaneity, experiencing that three-dimensionality at once in its entirety. We’d been working with the figure, particularly our own, prior to this and the idea of projecting the human figure like a map using digital technologies struck us as a way to add to these traditions in a contemporary way. We also imagined the process itself would contribute aesthetically to the final images by tearing the body as it flattened it, emphasizing the frailty and vulnerability we saw as inherent in our condition.

Citation: Denis Wood. “Some Things Lilla LoCurto and William Outcault Have to Say About Maps.” Cartographic Perspectives 56, Winter 2007, pp. 81-88 (color).

See this entire article (2mb PDF) here.

More on LoCurto and Outcault here.

Cartographic Perspectives issue #56 (Winter 2007) will be mailed soon to NACIS members. is $42/year ($20 for students) and includes three issues of the journal.

Aileen Buckley, David Barnes, and Jaynya Richards write, “Historical maps have long captivated map readers with their aesthetic qualities and the intrigue they impart, partly because they were done by hand. In this paper, historical maps were examined to determine if they illustrated design techniques and symbology that are adaptable for maps today. If so, the design techniques were then replicated in a modern map making environment using geographic information systems (GIS). With this “history of cartography” approach, we attempt to discover the underlying technical process of creation.”

Techniques discussed and illustrated in color:

Late Sixteenth to Early Seventeenth Century: Hillsigns, Coastal Rakes, Rhumb Lines, Ocean Art, Mimetic City Symbols, Ocean Stippling, Stream Tapering.

Early to Mid-nineteenth Century: Point Symbols along Roads, Border Calibrated to the Graticule

Late Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century: Sepia Tone

“The techniques described can help to improve modern design and production for a number of reasons: these enhanced effects allow greater design flexibility which is appreciated by both cartographer and map reader; some of the effects can be used for challenging black and white map design; some of the symbols are intuitive and easily understood by the map reader; some create a unique and unusual look that draws the map reader in and keeps his or her attention; and some add beauty and intrigue to maps.”

Citation: Aileen Buckley, David Barnes, and Jaynya Richards. “Achieving Historical Map Effects with Modern GIS.” Cartographic Perspectives 56, Winter 2007, pp. 63-72 (pp. 67-72 in color).

Cartographic Perspectives issue #56 (Winter 2007) will be mailed soon to NACIS members. NACIS membership is $42/year ($20 for students) and includes three issues of the journal.