JOYCE SIMBINE SAIETE FALL 2016
design As we begin the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we also begin at the most tangible and scientific end of the spectrum. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. As we begin the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we also begin at the most tangible and scientific end of the spectrum. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. The importance of understanding the working mechanism of the harmonograph and the effects of the pendulums on the product is paramount to the success of this project. Ensure you have a clear understanding of the physical properties of pendulums to guarantee the desired results. Additionally, the construction of the design is influential in the success of the project since many variables are introduced during the assemblage and design-build phase of the construction.
BRIEF 1: / The Drawing Machine Harmonograph
“CONCEPT”
The initial interpretation of the design lies behind the relationship between the drawing machine and its resultant. Initially, the machine was designed through a pendulous motion returning the touch. It then, transformed into a dual-swinging mechanism with a rotating element – as the drawing entity – and a moving lower piece – the recipient of the ink being draped onto the paper. The ink was explored by changing the “thickness” by adapting the water percentage in the concoction. The results varied accordingly, but overall the result was sucessful.
Initial Form Dissection
TOP SWING
ROTATING BOTTOM
“HARMONOGRAPH”
Ink: varying concentration Capacity of Ink Vessels Rotating Drawing Element: user’s touch “Shifting” Planar Base
A
Rotating Entity
Drawing Entity
B
Ink “Jets” Paper Ink/Tableu Resultant
Ink “Jets” and Rotation Joint
A
Harmonograph: Rotation Detail
B
Harmonograph: Lower Platform Detail
“COMPONENTS”
Wooden Rods Wood Screws Baking Funnels Plexy String Dials
BRIEF 1: BLACK ON WHITE
BRIEF 1: BLACK ON WHITE
BRIEF 1: WHITE ON BLACK
BRIEF 1: WHITE ON BLACK
HARMONOGRAPH
seminar
KEYWORDS art of mapping cartography mapping as storytelling design mapping plan of imola “Cartographers have long known that deploying artistic skills and techniques can enhance a map’s effect, and have to varying degrees used visual creativity to make their maps more compelling.1” As we begin the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we also begin at the most tangible and scientific end of the spectrum. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation.
RESPONSE 1: / Plan of Imola Mapping as a Manifestation of Art and Storytelling
The progression of civilization allows for the discovery of theories and interpretations of the world around us, creating a manifestation of the paradox of borders and their creation through map-making. In order to fully comprehend the existence and importance of cartography, one needs to encompass the concepts of: historical context, artistic awareness, societal shifts, technological development and “architectural engagement.2” As society adapts to technological and anthropological development, cartography follows. The artistic lens shapes the cartographic image of the world and its interpretation. Mapping cannot be discussed without the language of design and “storytelling”.
Figure 1: Bundesamt Für Landestopographie “Monte Rosa”
It is crucial to understand that the creation of a map, cannot be discussed lightly since there are many aspects to be dissected.
“THE ARTISTIC LENS SHAPES THE CARTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF THE WORLD.”
Throughout the ages the integration of visual directories of spaces and monuments has evolved into the interpretation of data and human interaction. The manifestation of a map can be represented as a developing story allowing the viewer to explore through the differentiation of line and color. Geographers must remain within the confinements of a “malleable but standardized visual language” whereas, artists are free to mutate the “conventional cultural orientations and beliefs;3” yet, both acknowledge the prominence of design in cartography. Mapping language has adapted a traditional; yet, embellished analysis of how a map should be read (Figure 1). It depicts the visual continuity between the spaces being portrayed and the twodimensionality of the representation.
Figure 2: Leonardo da Vinci, “Map of Imola” 1502
Figure 3: Jasper Johns, “Map” 1963
The integration of maps as a source of information gathering is not a recent concept, but the regulations are. Technology – along with art – aid in the success of a map. The ideal map consists of a balanced relationship between science and art, for it allows for successful interpretation of the data displayed. Prior to the European exploration of mapping; the Pacific Islanders navigated the lands through the use of “stick charts” which derived from mental maps and on-foot land exploration (see Figure 4). “European explorers and missionaries were astonished to meet indigenous people able to outline entire island groups in sand;4” therefore, allowing the concept of mapping to trespass its existence within a tangible or permanent space, to become a narration of memory and immaterial manifestations. Mapping, then, becomes a personal journey perceived by the informant and recipient. In other words, the map is the outcome that is perceived as both a personal manifestation – through memory and recollection – or an intake of visual data. On Origins and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan by John A. Pinto, a transformation of mapping is analyzed. Depending on the artistic and technological awareness of the artist – referencing cartographers, topographers and geographers as artisans as well since their desired outcome is a visual interpretation of their discoveries – the ichnographic piece shifts. Meaning, that the work is directly proportional to the artistic interpretation and awareness of the time. Art as defined by Merriam-Webster is stated as: something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. Map-making then becomes an art; for it interprets the tangible three-dimensional world into a flattened image – in memory or paper – created through varied drawing techniques.
Figure 4: “Marshall Island Stick Chart” 300 A.D.
Figure 1 is Leonardo da Vinci’s the drawn interpretation of Imola (circa 1502). The image – as analyzed by Pinto – is a city “represented as if viewed from an infinite number of viewpoints, all perpendicular to every topographical feature. Such a view is not to be seen in reality; it is an abstraction requiring a high degree of skill to measure and record.5” The mapping of Imola (Figure 2) as a representation by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the earliest examples of an ichnographic plan. The design initiates in its placement on the paper, where the map sits in the center of a circular element divided by 8
radiating segments representing the names of the winds “associated during the Renaissance with the directions of the compass. The implications of this circular frame and accompanying grid system were not properly understood until Pedretti recognized in them the essential characteristics of an approach to topogra-
Figure 5: Adriana Varejão “Contingente” 1998-2000
Figure 6: Tim McMichael “Transformer” 2005
phical representation described by Raphael in his well-known letter to Pope Leo X.6” The plan utilized “a plurality of hypothetical viewpoints, each perpendicular to the earth’s surface.7” Every elements in the drawing – including buildings and topography – coexist symbiotically without blocking the other. The differentiation of line work allows for a distinct segregation between the different elements of the plan. The flow of the river fluctuates between the varying line weights to represent the rise and fall of the tides in different seasons. The use of negative and positive space, enhances the juxtaposition between: the streets, the buildings, topography and water features. The composition of the piece allows the eye to travel from one end to the other without interruption; therefore, creating a fluid continuity through the use of space and color. Though the scientific representation of the map may be questioned – due to the technology existent at the time – the artistic decisions taken by da Vinci allowed for a successful interpretation of it. Like Adriana Varejão’s (Figure 5) use of dramatic color and special placement, da Vinci effectively integrated the viewer into the piece by creating minor coloration decisions with intricately depicted negative space. Within the city lines, the different buildings and squares create a play with color through their varied intonations; whilst playing with the negative space. Along with their artistic and scientific aspects, maps may also be described as “painted itineraries.8” The three concepts, represent the interconnected relationship between a map’s function and its creation. A map is not merely an informant of space but an integration of the human scale into an otherwise impalpable element. The integration of artistic implementation on a map allows for a creation of personalization of space,
regardless of scale. McMichael’s Transformer (Figure 6) is an extreme example of the use of color and fragmentation, where he creates the map as a statement to “document his place in a state of impermanence;9” allowing for the manifesto to become a piece of art. Though McMichael’s initial intent was to create art, maps can also be considered as such (due to their visual pleasure). As humans, there is a need to view beautiful things, or elements that work harmoniously to create beauty – including maps. The map aids in the navigation of a place, but it also visually reads as a masterpiece because it plays with the principles of design (rhythm, movement, proportion, variety, emphasis, balance and harmony).10
01 Harmon, The Map as Art, 9. 02 Gissen, “Architecture’s Geographic Turns,” 59-67. 03 Harmon, The Map as Art, 11. 04 Ehrenberg, Mapping the World, 16. 05 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 35. 06 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 37. 07 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 44. 08 Ehrenberg, Mapping the World, 27. 09 Harmon, The Map as Art, 233. 10 “Toledo Art Museum.”
MAPPING AS ART AND STORYTELLING
Land and River Improvement Company of Superior “Man of Commerce,” 1889
design As we continue the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we move into realms of production that do not have direct physical and tangible understandings. Here, elements of premanufactured control are used as opposed to the construction of each of the elements in the Harmonograph exercise. This transition within the spectrum of understanding requires intense research and experimentation in order to produce an anticipated outcome. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, this foray into understanding these precepts is through the objective operation. As singular individuals, you will research, identify, design, and construct a Pintograph for full execution during our studio session on class eight. Pintographs are harmonographs that use electric motors instead of pendulums to move the drawing instrument. Therefore, these drawing machines are more engineered in their construction, and yet provide more result combinations in their product than relying on simple laws of gravity and friction.
BRIEF 2: / The Drawing Machine Pintograph
“CONCEPT”
After the completion of the Harmonograph, designing and building a “Drawing Machine” – in this instance a Pintograph – became a simpler task; in the sense that the design process was synthesized into a singular focus: functionality. The beautification of the element became secondary, since its functionality was the main focus – the concept of “thinking like an artist” became naught. The design was derived from precedents found on the internet, with personalized interpretations of the entity. Overall, the project was sucessful and work-heavy.
LOOK AT DIFFERENT ASPECTS/ELEMENTS
OR
Double Jointed
Initial Form Dissection
Single Arm
DIFFERENT SIZED ELEMENTS?
DRAWING ELEMENT
ROTATING
CIRCULAR ELEMENT DRAWING MECHANISM
HOLE
WOODEN BASE MECHANICAL ASPECT
“PINTOGRAPH”
“Static” Singular Rod: responding to motors Writting Rod: Two motors: fast, but slowed down through weight Two Main Rotating Discs: four pen holders
Rotating Disc
A
B
Drawing Entity
Motors
Motor Platform
C
Pintograph: Rotation Detail
Batteries
A
Pintograph: Drawing Utensil Detail
B
Pintograph: Motor and Disc Detail
C
Pintograph: Battery Detail
BRIEF 2: DOUBLE-PEN
BRIEF 2: DOUBLE-PEN
BRIEF 2: DOUBLE-PEN
BRIEF 2: SINGLE-PEN
BRIEF 2: SINGLE-PEN
PINTOGRAPH
seminar
KEYWORDS mapping into digital cartography of networks imagination in mapping intercalated mapping cinematography as map human scale in mapping “Mapping has emerged in the information age as a means to make the complex accessible, the hidden visible, the unmappable mappable. As we struggle to steer through the torrent of data unleashed by the Internet, and to situate ourselves in a world in which commerce and community have been redefined in terms of networks, mapping has become a way of making sense of things.1” ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation.
RESPONSE 2: / Forensic Record in Tension Physical, Metaphysical and Tangible
As the progression of transformative information – referencing maps as an unchanging changeable entity through the progression of time and its transmutative properties – evolves through time the graphical elements of the mapping transform. The digital era aids in the abstraction of information and its quantitative implementation, but creates an overload; thus, eliminating the personal. With the mass interpretation of material, mapping is utilized as the guide as well as the entity itself; therefore, transcending the physical and digital divide. Preceding the Industrial Revolution, the art became an abstraction which birthed the machine aesthetic. Consequently, sometime in the 1960s the art of mapping went “beyond traditional notions of cartography, from the static drawing of the earth’s surface to dynamic maps of human activity that had to be updated every year2” – an example being its translation into African political boundaries “THE DIGITAL ERA AIDS IN THE ABSTRACTION OF INFORMATION”
post-European intervention (Figure 1). Maps are may be described as stories that allow the viewer to decipher the desired content through personal bias and interpretation. The map – as the entity being analyzed – moves beyond the physical and digital; since the intervention of personal bias and interpretation creates a realm into the mental. It is derived from the ideal of the movement from a space to another, where the path and its conclusion creates one’s desired outcome. The brain decodes the lines and visual ques of movement and follows through the metaphysical adaptation of what the eye perceives. To what means does the integration of personal bias affect the interpretative language of map making?
Figure 1: Claude Augé “Carte Generale de l’Afrique” ca. 1904
Since, the entities may be interpreted digitally, tactile or through memory; what constitutes the boundaries between the changing – the organic mappable realm – and static – the manifested map? The use of simulation through an intercalation of mapping, human perception and the implementation of the entity in modern society, allows for a transparency between the operating systems of a map. The systems represent the “general organizational dynamic at work in contemporary society.3” Meaning, that the map becomes the embodiment of the creation by the creator which is translated by the digital. The map then becomes the dominant in the relationship between the viewer and its palpable manifesto, for it dictates what and how it is perceived. The viewer on the other hand is allowed to create a personal interpretation of what is seen and follow the map as desired. “If visualization retains power in the contemporary world, or perhaps even
Figure 2: Claude Shannon “Diagram of Communication System” 1948
power over the world, it is only to the extent that it is computational as well, in effect transforming the world into so much source material to be scanned at ever greater resolutions, translated into larger and more inclusive sets of data.4” The data is transformed into infused maps depicts the intricacy of complex environments into visual manifestations. Figure 2, illustrates the forensic approach of information dissection and arrangement. The diagram – which may also be interpreted as a map, since it runs a course from start to finish – analyzes the input of information as the same transmitter from one end to the next, whilst allowing the “in between” to become disreputable space. The transformational integration of a map, can be compared to the overlaid incorporation of images in cinematography. The effects of juxtaposed imagery containing information – such as geographical – creates an activation of visual interpretation and content. When comparing the transformative digital pixilized spatial data with GIS, the “human and human culture play a very important role,” since the cinematic landscape creates an emotional outcome.5” The integration of human perception into the transformative creates a personalized perception of information; no matter the medium. The use of imagination related to the viewer’s embodiment of sense of place as well as comprehension of space, constitutes the personification of a map into
faux-realism. The mapping process initiates with the intuitive, scientific data collection – physical, digital and through memory – then transports into the subjective narrative that in turn becomes objective, for a map must have a start and finish. When looking at the map, the human mind creates a sinuous flow between the “conscious knowledge” and the boundless borders of the map. The forensic as the data becomes processed as a memory or subconscious entity that allows the viewer to feel the twodimensional space. The contours of the lines become tangible elements where one imagines standing on the top engulfing the scenic response. Figure 3, corresponds to the Map of Rome by Giambattista Nolli where the map utilizes various design choice that aid in the discovery of Rome as a tourist or local. The map is layout to aid in imaginative stimulation by utilizing: textures, variation of perspectives – three and two dimensional elements narrating a story of life in Rome at the specific time frame – use of storyline through personalized elements and segregated districts to aid in full comprehension of the plan. The snapshot of Rome at the bottom of the plan increases visual pleasure, by interpreting perspectives of the city to allow for a personalized experience with the map and its information. In contrast
to Figure 4 – Limes Atlas – the use of imagination is created through the deliberate abstraction of detail, with the use of color to differentiate the varied elements on the map allowing the viewer to travel through the Ancient Roman Empire by memory – from media or school – and decode the color palette. Similar to a filmic spatial data, Limes Atlas has several mapping visuals relaying different information creating a progressive storyline. The concept of “path finder” integrates the relationship between the perceived – the map as the director of information – and reality. Utilizing a map does not represent leisure, instead it guides the viewer into the desired destination – tangible or not. Therefore, the segregation between the two-dimensional, reality and metaphysical must be translucent. When travelling through a city visual metaphors must be explored; but, the necessity of such is perceived differently between a first-time perceiver and a frequenter.
Figure 3: Giambattista Nolli “Map of Rome,” 1748
The tactile interpretation of the mapping device – digital or print – with the cityscape creates a metal response where the map transfers from the physical into the imaginative realm. In the realm of signage as a form of mapping; the successful implementation of easily understood signage as well as varied languages is the “key element of the tourist prosaic and the experience of cultural tourism .6” The integration of mental-mapping aids in the navigation of spaces but the use of signage aids in the experience of space and its direction. The mapping of the navigation through the city does not necessarily correspond to the traditional definition of a map, but can also be the use of “new media” – such as blogs, newsgroups and social media. Therefore, mapping does not have to conform to its traditional interpretation but transforms with the improvement of technology and societal needs.
A map delineates the movement through space and time. The forensics of mapping becomes transparent when combining the metaphysical, physical and tangible. The mapping experience trespasses the realm of two-dimensionality into the imagination, allowing the viewer to create a personalized interpretation of the journey. In Figure 5, the New York is a pictorial depiction of the city in bird’s eye-view, where the high-rise edifices spike through the paper and become ephemeral in their appearance, almost taking flight off the page. The map determines its forensic elements; yet, the allocation of design principles – such as color and line weight – allow the metaphysical to take over. When paired with the navigation of the city – introducing the human scale – the map transforms into a pictorial intervention aiding with the urban illustrations. “Every map involves a process of choosing what to depict and what to exclude, which is related to the “EVERY MAP INVOLVES A PROOCESS OF CHOOSING WHAT TO DEPICT”
map’s broader context and the motives of its creating.7” The integration of the time frame depicted on the map, in response to the transformative properties of the imagination and cityscape create a complex experience which respond to the emotional aspect of it.
Figure 4: Joost Grootens “Limes Atlas,” 2005
Mapping transforms in response to the digital media by recreating itself, but still maintains its core principle: : to inform. Therefore, the map is a manifestation of a response dictated by a specific force – like geographical, political, informative and transformative as a drawing machine.
01 Harmon, The Map as Art, 9. 02 Gissen, “Architecture’s Geographic Turns,” 59-67. 03 Harmon, The Map as Art, 11. 04 Ehrenberg, Mapping the World, 16. 05 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 35. 06 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 37. 07 Pinto, Origin and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan, 44.
TANGIBLE VS METAPHYSICAL
Figure 5: Hermann Bollmann “New York,” 1962
design As we continue the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we must explore those machines and drawings that are unpredictable and unanticipated. This transition within the spectrum of understanding requires intense research and experimentation in order to produce an anticipated outcome. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, this foray into understanding these precepts is through the ‘subjective’ and ‘projective’ operations. As singular individuals you will each research, identify, design, and construct a drawing machine for mapping. These machines can be executed before the deadline and class meeting, but if so, the process of use, mapping, and product must be documented thoroughly with photographs and video. These drawing machines can make use of knowledge gained in the prior two builds, i.e. motors, power, variable switching, variations in armature construction and use; or can engage new systems of control and production, i.e. sensors (light, motion, sound), Arduino or Raspberry Pi controllers, etc.
BRIEF 3: / The Drawing Machine Subjective Mapping
“CONCEPT”
The robotic of the project were derived from a children’s robotic toy; where the components range from: ultrasonic sensors to Bluetooth modules. The robot was relatively easy to command through its app, but the coding was tricky. The desired outcome of the project was to monitor the movement of by-passers by detecting their presense and allowing the robot to rotate for 5 seconds and inch backwards a few centimeters. The result was a series of circular patterns where the subject moved, and round circular nodes signifying no-movement.
DESIRED OUTCOME
VIEWPORTS SENSOR
PAPER
PERSON
WALL
TRAJECTORY
SENSOR CAMERA?
SENSOR “TRIGGERS”
PERSON
SENSOR
DRAWING
“COMPONENTS�
Ultrasonic Sensor: programmed to detect by-passers Bluetooth module: controllers (for app) Pen: two varying thicknesses
A
B
Robot: Core Detail
Robot: Sensor Detail
A
Bluetooth Module
Wheel
B
Ultrasonic Sensor
Roller Ball Robot: Rotation Detail
STATIC VS MOTION
STATIC VS MOTION
MONOTORING MOVEMENT
Joyce Simbine Saiete “Untitled” 2016
seminar
KEYWORDS inventive vs observed maker vs entity symbolism perceived vs actual power in mapping “Every map is more than a simple documentary exercise. Rather, it is a representation necessarily based on a narrative understanding of place.1” Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we also begin at the most tangible and scientific end of the spectrum. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we also begin at the most tangible and scientific end of the spectrum. ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these.
RESPONSE 3: / Subjective Mapping Intangible, Haptic, Inventive and Observed
The use of mapping through the conceptualized understanding of the notion of technological and social development varies according to personal interpretation of the entity itself. The use of a map can be derived through various interpretations and views according to the intent of the viewer. Though personal, a map may contain guiding codes that aid in the navigation of the given entity. A map cannot be considered a map, unless it follows specified hierarchical rules and representations. When looking at a map, personal interpretation takes place, but the standardized notions of what it represents also play a role. To what extent does symbolism, ruled interpretation and personal perception of the entity play a role on how it is read? And, how does the display of a map aid or obstruct one’s interpretation of it?
within the circle “separate[ing] the earth into three continents with the Mediterranean Sea and rivers between.1” With the refinement of equipment, the process of mapmaking became simpler and topographical accuracy in the representation of maps became achievable. The initial expressions of a map revolved around the power held by the commissioner of the body, as well as the egotistical exhibitionism of craftsmanship by the author. In Leonardo
Mapping as a concept derives from the human need to recreate their surroundings and their ability to navigate through them. “HOW DOES THE DISPLAY OF A MAP AID OR OBSTRUCT INTERPRETATION?”
“Maps have always played a crucial role in determining territory and reallocation property;2” which enhances the “human” in a map’s conditioning. With the development of technology and the growth of the human intellect, mapping has evolved beyond the homogenous, semireligious narcissistic mapmaking production as seen in the Limbourg Brothers’ interpretation of Rome in Très Riches Heures where it becomes a statement rather than practical (Figure 1). It is drawn in the shadows of Crusader maps, where the “symbolic perfection of those embracing Christianity, and later, those espousing Neoplatonism” created the city within the parameters where it becomes framed by a circle, which in turn creates a T
Figure 1: Limbourg Brothers “Rome in Très Riches Heures,” ca. 1410-16
Bufalini’s Roma, the artist – accurately describing his profession: surveyor, military engineer and amateur antiquarian – embeds himself within the work to stamp his mark and declare authenticity (Figure 2). He declares authorships and dominion over the map, placing himself within Rome
Figure 2: Leonardo Bufalini “Roma,” 1551
iteself. The relationship between the perceived and intended relates back to personal interpretation of a map and what the author intended the viewer to identify. The perceived lies between the realm of the maker and the entity, because the map develops its own voice and transcends beyond the author’s depiction.In other words, the outcome of the author’s biased voice, is heard as a backdrop to the viewer’s interaction with the map and what it entails. The Ishihara Test created by Shinobu Ishihara examines an individual’s colorblindness (Figure 3). The desired outcome is dependent on the viewer’s personal visual bias; which means that the author wishes to tempt the eye array determining the viewer as colorblind or not. Mapping – in its traditionalist sense – also tempts to portray specific information, which may be altered according to the viewer’s perception of the work and desired outcome.
Figure 3: Shinobu Ishihara “Ishihara Test (1/38),” 1918
Mapping transforms into an expression in relation of the flow of information in response to the re-emergence of the reformatted world. The input of information creates an abundance of interpretations dependent of the “aporia of modern measure.4”
Light and Dark “Accept and Proceed,” 2008
The measure between the predicted and outcome, creates an interdependent relationship between the inventive and observed. The predicted becomes the hand of the author whom creates the entity, whilst the outcome is the desired entity at hand. In contrast, the inventive relates to the creative license taken by the author – and map itself – for its creation; whilst the observed becomes the relationship between the viewer and its exhibition (the map). “Today, things that are symbolically related are brought into a network of proximity that can mitigate or redeem physical distance.5” In other words, the transparency between the intended outcome and the actual, differs according to an individual’s personal bias and comprehension of what lies of the tactile manifestation. A map may be viewed in print or digital, regardless of its manifestation it remains a tangible element. The moment it is released from the metal it becomes a palpable article.
Maps are a manifestation of the human selfcentered representation of what is perceived and how it affects us. “Despite their quantifying scales and grids, maps resemble miniature pictorial representations of the physical world.6” They allow for a stagnant representation of the author’s observation and document of what they see, and reflected upon a space where the perceived depends on the viewer. The map also reflects on the relationship between a one’s placement in a environment – like a city. Such elements are reflected initially on the author’s attachment to his work – like Bufalini’s appreciation of the ancient and modern Rome – and his limited knowledge in the artistic craft and the viewer’s biased intake of information. The author delineates the precision of the map through analytical perception and bias, then the map becomes its own interpretation which in turn dictates how the viewer perceives information. Bufalini designed his map to convey the heritage of the old within the modern, whilst encompassing the educated viewer to admire the map “while meditating on the glories of the Eternal City, past and present.7” The map is the embodiment of the manifested idea that it is experienced through the physical and personal where the “disproportionate effect on our mental maps of the world, and that simple rules can give rise to complex – even intelligent – systems.8” The shift in the qualitative use of measures in mapping, allowed for the refinement of the map and its accuracy. The map has been measured in measuring tools available to the time. Prior to the standardization of the measuring unit implemented by “Galileo, Bacon, Newton, and Descartes, measure assumed an increasingly autonomous and self Chaotic Atmospheres “Rio de Janeiro”
referential place in human knowledge, becoming less and less connected to experiential and culturally situated origins.9” The scaling of the map and its measurements were derived from the human body, through the comprehension of: cultural awareness and linkage, workforce – an example being the concept of “day of fields” dictating mass division through the delineation of area physically sowed by an individual per day – human scale and astronomy. The accuracy of the map, differentiates according to the technological advances on the time and place. Therefore, the author may design the entity to read in a specific manner, but the materials may distort the accomplishment of the intricacy of the map and its intended information; allowing, the map to adapt to its personal language and descriptive mannerism.
01 Lam, “Narrative Structure: The Nolli Plan and the Roman Experience,” 81. 02 Abrams, Else/Where: Mapping, 44. 03 Miller, Mapping Cities, 10. 04 Corner, Taking Measures Across the American Landscape, 27. 05 Abrams, Else/Where: Mapping, 44. 06 Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitive Information, 40. 07 Maier, “Mapping Past and Present: Leonardo Bufalini’s Plan of Rome,” 5. 08 Abrams, Else/Where: Mapping, 200. 09 Corner, Taking Measures Across the American Landscape, 28.
INTANGIBLE AND OBSERVED
Edward Quin “The Deluge,” 1830
design As we conclude the investigation of Drawing Machines as minor acts of architecture that produce discursive imagery, we culminate our exploration with the product as a result of a process. This farthest swing of the pendulum to the opposite side of the spectrum from where we began requires intense research and experimentation in order to produce an [un?]anticipated outcome. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, this foray into understanding these precepts is through the ‘mobile beholder’ and ‘programmed’ operations. As singular individuals you will each research, identify, design, and construct a drawing. Of course these drawings should be executed before the deadline and class meeting, but remember the process must be documented thoroughly with photographs and video. These drawings should demonstrate use of knowledge gained throughout the quarter as required to construct your drawing, i.e. from the most descriptive science based machine, through the use of motorized actuators and sensors, through the use of programming output.
BRIEF 4: / A Machine? A Map? Is it a physical artifact?
BRIEF 4: DECONSTRUCTION
BRIEF 4: DISSECTION
BRIEF 4: ABSTRACTION
WHAT IS A DRAWING?
Joyce Simbine Saiete “Untitled” 2016
seminar
KEYWORDS conditioning of maps imaginative worlds place vs space framing of spaces mapping as egocentrism imagination in mapping intent of author hand of machine viewer perception “That lands and peoples unknown to a European observer should be called “New World” simply because the observer had no prior knowledge of them brings to the foreground the larger issue of the arrogance and ethnocentrism of observers for whom what is unknown does not exist.1” ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation. In alignment with the co-requisite seminar ‘Mapping: Issues in Representation’, the first foray into understanding these precepts is through the descriptive operation.
RESPONSE 4: / Movement and Imagination in Mapping Perception in Response to Mapping
The conditioning of map making as a response to the known by the discovery of the unknown relies on the paradigm of perception and how it affects the reader and his intent. The maps of imagination rely on the coexistence of space and time through the metaphysical as a form of manifestation of the unknown. Mapping the existence relies on the comprehension of the: past, present and future; where the relationship becomes tainted from the hand creating it and its bias. A map is designed to summon the manifestation of an idealized concept through the perception and comprehension of the machine – human or not – and its interpretation of the known and unknown. The depiction of a map today, differs from preceding maps where bias has shifted and contorted to a universal language. The map has evolved from an imagined, undiscovered space – as seen in Figure 1 with the abstraction of the world divided by
Figure 1: “T-O Map,” ca. 13 Century
“THE MAP HAS EVELOVED FROM AN IMAGINED UNDISCOVERED SPACE”
three main land masses – to the overflow of information to the extent of abstraction of information – represented by Figure 2 where the precision of plot divisions are visible but the plot is abstracted to “represent timing and sequence as it is about spacing and marking the ground”2. The imagined and tangible vary accordingly; therefore, allowing the hand – creator of the entity – and time, dictate the projection of the map. “Imaginary worlds” are perceived in varied interpretations; for, the imaginative realm is complex and entails different perceptions of space and time. The comprehension of such a map relies on the dictated spaces created by the author and the intent in which it is willing to portray. The imagination is a
Figure 2: James Corner “Field Plots,” 1995
Figure 3: Sandro Botticelli “Chart of Hell,” ca. 1490
personal experience; yet, when dictated upon a map the narrative becomes both generic and standardized. In other words, the map displays the objective designed by its creator but, the faith within the reader renders it to life. Faith in the unknown – and perceived – creates realism onto an otherwise unrealistic space; an example being the “maps of the afterlife or of the worlds of the gods.” Such manifestos “are anything but imaginary, while to the nonbeliever, they are anything but real.3” The path into hell is not real, yet, those who believe have mapped it so that the believers are prepared for the inevitable doom – if their destiny is set to send them there (Figure 3). Ichnographic maps are limiting in the sense that they do not relate to the possibilities of illustrations like: fictional maps – mostly illustrated in fiction books (like, Idris, the Shadownhunter’s home country4 described in Cassandra Clare’s three most popular series; Figure 4) – “lost continents,” literary maps – dedicated to “tracing the real world settings of fictional events, or the location of events once thought to have been real but now recognized as fiction” – “disproportionate maps” or spatial differentiation maps exploring various outcomes of a specific maps” or spatial differentiation maps exploring various outcomes of a specific space and time – like the mass response of border delineated by the losers and vice-versa. Allowing the art of mapping to become solely the response to the known, is injudicious since a map transcends
Figure 5: Le Corbusier “Immeuble Molitor” CA. 1934
Figure 4: The Shadowhunter’s Codex “Idris Map,” 2013
the realm of the known and unknown; allowing for a continual interpretation of such, according to its viewer and what he intends to take from it. The diagnostics of a perceived space is entangled with the imagined and perceived, since it is mapped through both the physical and metaphysical. The dynamic positioning of a map allows for the unconscious integration of the entity – physical manifestation of the map or even a building – by creating a representation of the space. The framing created by the different depictions of the concept of mapping and its integration of the resultant of such, through the content created by
the hand of the machine; allow the viewer to create a personal journey of the content and choose the path to take. In literary works, the path created by the author at times is more detailed than the ichnographic map represented since it creates an insight into time and space and creates stories derived from the location by “sculpting characters associated with them”
Figure 6: Adriana Varejão “Contingente” 1998-2000
giving the places life and meaning.5 The use of the framed intention links back to the trajectory created by the map and the journey. An example of such, would be Le Corbusier’s “threshold”6 as form of suspense delineated by the linkage of spaces through movement of the body – navigating through space – and mind – by creating a path with the eyes and the metaphysical. Figure 4, represents Corbusier’s live-work apartment where his use of framing
Figure 7: Christopher Columbus “Columbus’ Letters” ca. 1506
and inception reflect both his personality and navigation through his space in achieving avoidance to those around him – wife and maid. “The apartment provides a sense of the recalcitrant stoicism of its creator, fused with sporadic bursts of strategic playfulness.7” In other words, “the building, as in the films of Eisenstein, is a protagonist in the drama, entering into a tense and passionate relationship with the reader.8” The configuration of a maps’ intent and its spatial plan is reflected upon the interference of space and time, where the imagined and the actual are interconnected. The concept that a “world does not exist”, because it is unknown is biased and cripples the intellect. During the era of colonialism, the European settlers declared a place unknown because it remained “undiscovered”, “something was declared new, and the printing press consolidated the idea among the literates;” where the inhabitants of the place were disregarded – since the land was newly discovered by the explorers, the land was still considered “new.” In response “space and place followed patterns similar to
time and memory.9” Mapping to a certain extent is the egocentric display of one’s stamp in time. The journey displayed on paper is tainted with the author’s personal deception and bias. Mapmaking in the age of colonialism, shifted the art into a Eurocentric manifestation. Maps were created as “new worlds” were discovered, representing the European reach and dominance of the time. Figure 7 is a representation of such example, where the map caters to Christopher Columbus’ voyage into the “New World.” The map is a complete abstraction of the world through a European’s representation of space and time. It is simplified to represent the realm by the information known of the time and the areas where European influence has reached.
Eduard Imhof “Mt Everest,” ca. 1965
Shoreditch and Bank “Map of Central London,” 1897
Christian Ulrich Wagner “Augspurg und Ulm,” ca. 1846
The illustration of a map is derived from the relationship between the intent of the author and the perception of the reader. The fluid relation created by the two, allow for the integration of the unknown through the depiction of the known. The framing of spaces designates the viewer’s journey and experience through the space. The static reflects the dynamic in the intersection between the place and space; where the drawn entity becomes the framing mechanism of the perceived space and time. In other words, the discovery of the known does not eliminate the unknown, instead it creates a platform for the potential discovery. The same may be depicted by imagined places, where the literary description becomes the map and transcends the physicality of the creation of a map. “Dante’s poetic depiction of the kingdom of the damned is so vivid, so compelling, that it seems to cry out for illustration;9” yet, the artists whom attempted to map Hell “were trying to find in Dante a mirror of their own modernity.” Meaning Meaning that at the attempt to illustrate the unknown the realm of the known contaminates its purity; whether the mappable is described or discovered in pieces.
Carol June Barton “Tunnel Map,” 1988
01 Mignolo, The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and Colonization, 259. 02 Abrams, Taking Measures across the American Landscape, 104. 03 Akerman, Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, 256. 04 Shadowhunter Wikia, “Idris� 05 Akerman, Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, 258. 06 Threshold (Merriam-Webster): the place or point of entering or beginning . 07 Samuel, Le Corbusier and the Architectural Promenade, 86. 08 Mignolo, The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and Colonization, 259. 09 Akerman, Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, 262. 10 Akerman, Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, 263.
PERCEPTION IN MAPPING
Fabrice Clapiès “Ville Sur Papier et Autres Conséquences Figuratives”
BIBLIOGRAPHY: / Work Cited
RESPONSE 1: MAPPING AS STORYTELLING
Ehrenberg, Ralph E. Mapping the World. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006. Gissen, David. “Architecture’s Geographic Turns.” (2008): 56-67. Accessed 09/12/2016. Harmon, Katharine. The Map as Art. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Pinto, John A. “Origins and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan.” The American Academy in Rome 35 (1976): 35-50. Accessed 09/12/2016.
Masako Kubo “Kyusyu, Japan,” ca. 2013
Toledo Museum of Art. “Principles of Design.”Accessed September 25, 2016. http://www.vislit.org/principles-of-design/
RESPONSE 2: PHYSICAL, METAPHYSICAL AND TANGIBLE
Abrams, Janet, and Peter Hall.
Else/where: Mapping New Cartographies of Networks and Territories.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Design Institute, 2006. Aitken, Stuart, and James Craine. “Guest Editorial: Affective Geovisualization.” Directions Magazine. February 7, 2006. http://www. directionsmag.com/articles/guest-editorialaffective-geovisualizations/123211. Metro-Roland, Michelle M.
Tourists, Signs and the
City: The Semiotics of Culture in an Urban Landscape.
Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2011. Fawcett-Tang, Roger, and William Owen. Mapping Graphic Navigational Systems. Mies: RotoVision, 2008. Silver, Mike, and Diana Balmori.
Mapping in the
Age of Digital Media: The Yale Symposium.
London:
Wiley, 2003.
Mira Rojanasakul “Subjective Cartography,” ca. 2010
Verstegen, Ian, Allan Ceen, and Giambattista Nolli. Giambattista Nolli and Rome: Mapping the City Before and After the Pianta Grande. Rome: Studium Urbis, 2013.
RESPONSE 3: INTANGIBLE, HAPTIC, INVENTIVE AND OBSERVED
Abrams, Janet, and Peter Hall.
Else/where: Mapping New Cartographies of Networks and Territories.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Design Institute, 2006.
Corner, James, Alex S. Maclean, and Michael Van Valkenburgh. Taking Measures across the American Landscape. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. Fawcett-Tang, Roger, and William Owen. Mapping Graphic Navigational Systems. Mies: RotoVision, 2008. Maier, Jessica. “Mapping Past and Present: Leonardo Bufalini’s Plan of Rome (1551).” Imago Mundi 59, no. 1 (April 27, 2007): 1-23. doi:10.1080/03085690600997464. Miller, Naomi. Mapping Cities. Boston, MA: Boston University Art Gallery, 2000. Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1983.
Karen Margolis “Damascus,” 2010
Verstegen, Ian, Allan Ceen, and Giambattista Nolli. Giambattista Nolli and Rome: Mapping the City Before and After the Pianta Grande. Rome: Studium Urbis, 2013.
RESPONSE 4: PERCEPTION IN RESPONSE TO MAPPING
Akerman, James R., and Robert W. Karrow. Maps: Finding Our Place in the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Bathurst, Matilda. “In Praise of Le Corbusier’s Immeuble Molitor.” Design Curial. September 26, 2013. Accessed November 20, 2016. http://www.designcurial.com/news/in-praiseof-le-corbusiers-immeuble-molitor. Corner, James, and Alex S. MacLean. Taking Measures Across the American Landscape. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. “Idris.” The Shadownhunters Wikia. Accessed November 20, 2016. http://shadowhunters. wikia.com/wiki/Idris#cite_note-0. Mignolo,
Walter
D.
The Darker Side of the
Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and Colonization.
Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1995. Samuel, Flora. Rand McNally “Histomap,” 1931
Le Corbusier and the Architectural
Promenade.
Basel: Birkhäuser, 2010.