Maps!

I have a real obsession with maps. I have made art with maps, I have multiple maps hanging in my apartment, I have a box of old maps and multiple books of old maps. Maps are cool… and here a few cool maps online!

I just found this one… which is pretty cool… though it’s hard to read the details. Mike Wirth’s “The Best Beer in America” 2009

I love the BPL (Boston Public Library). When I eventually leave Massachusetts, the BPL will be in the top 5 most missed places for me. Their collections are huge, amazing and completely under used. Thanks to Peter Scott and my two stints in the print media seminar class at SMFA, I discovered a lot about the BPL collection. Did you know they have a lot of Goya? (complete sets of the Caprichos, Desastres de la Guerra, Proverbios, and Tauromachie, and two of the lithographs of The Bulls of Bordeaux).

The other thing about the BPL? They have an absolutely amazing map department. The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center has (for the most part) been scanned and put on the internet for all the world to see! If you have any free time, just start to meander through the collection.

Chris sent me this link of maps. The third one is a map by Ptolemy… a copy of which can be found at the BPL! I really enjoy the maps that are found the farther you scroll down.

Last, but not least… a very design-y take on maps. When I was helping a friend find an apartment, we went into one that had one of these posters. I like the Boston one… but I wish it stretched across the river into Cambridge. I do feel that they could be made better. But I guess I’m not the one designing them!

That’s it for maps… for now… bum bum bummmmmm.

Tara Donovan @ the ICA

Chris and I decided to take the day and go see some art. We decided to head to the ICA to see the Tara Donovan show and the Foster show. The only problem? The Foster show opens tomorrow. So, back to Tara Donovan. Her piece Untitled (Pins) is in the private collection at the ICA, and is usually on view. It was not until today, when I was looking through the show catalog, that I realized I had seen more of her work at the MFA . The pieces that I had seen at the MFA were not installations, but prints. She has made quite a few stunning prints from rubber bands and adding machine paper. They are pretty much gorgeous and simple. The Ace Gallery has a nice archive of images of Donovan’s work, including a few of said prints.

The ICA show was nice and simple. Her work was given room to breathe, unlike the World as a Stage show, and yet it did not appear like there was too much room and not enough work. It is hard to get around the thrill of figuring out what material she’s using (and the quantity of that material) and look at the work on a higher level. I guess that’s the underlying issue when working with everyday objects. Nonetheless Donovan’s creations are mesmerizing.

My favorite (by far) was the piece titled Haze. The one thing that I said to Chris was that I disliked the gap from the work to the top of the wall. He, of course, pointed out that in the show catalog that was in my hand, Donovan called this piece “site-responsive”. Depending on what space Haze was exhibited would change the dimensions of Haze . I guess I should read a little more. Haze also reminded me of a piece in the Olafur Eliasson show that was at MoMA . I can’t seem to find an image of it, but it was basically this large wall of moss that definitely did not look like moss until you were close enough to touch it (and yes, I did touch it).

So if you are in the area, stop by the ICA and check it out…

ICA!