Reading/Listening Response to "Mapping"

When I think of a map I immediately think of a road map...probably the majority of people do too but there are more types of maps out there then I could ever imagine and that I even fail to notice each day. After listening to the Chicago Radio broadcast on "Mapping", I realized there is a whole world of maps out there I have yet to discover. In this broadcast they introduce the topic  of maps by describing how, every year, a group of people go out in NYC and make a map of all the cracks in the side walks in all 5 boroughs. When I heard this it blew my mind. I'm an hour train ride fro the city and go there quite often when I'm home and even worked in the city last summer. I know the city pretty well and thinking about all the side walks that stretch from the Lower West side to the Upper East side, there must be over a million just in one borough. It wasn't just the amount of sidewalks that blew my mind, but also the idea of making a map of all the cracks in the sidewalk.

 When I walk on a sidewalk, especially in the city, I'm not paying any attention to whether there are cracks on the sidewalk but I'm focused on getting to where I need to go and not getting run over. Making a map of all the cracks in a sidewalk not only makes a very detailed map but, artistically speaking, it creates a strong surface geometry filled with lines and shapes. One of my first thoughts (after I got over what a ridiculous task this was), was how I would love to see one of these maps. After looking at Denis Wood's illustrations of maps, I only felt more excited by what I saw. It was not only a map but it was aesthetically pleasing, captivating, and mysterious all at once. As I listened on about 5 different artists who map the world through the different senses, I really started thinking hard about making maps and how they are not only informational, but artistic.

According to this broadcast, the heart of map making is found by ignoring everything else but one thing. Maps "focus out the chaos in the world by focusing on one thing"; they eliminates all the distractions but that one place, one object, or one thing. I had actually never thought about maps in this way. Maps not only focus on one thing, but they take this thing and dissect it till every part of it is revealed. By focusing on only one thing in maps, it really allows the maker to understand this thing and explain it to his/her audience through different visual cues. 

Taking the information I gained from this reading/listening experience as well as the visual experience I got from Denis Wood's maps, I really understand maps and their context as well as the process that is behind their creation. I think this knowledge will help me in creating my own map for the Alternative Map of St. Mary's project and I hope that I really explore different ways to explore mapping as a whole.