Category: maps

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Spherical series 22

2012, mixed media, 23.5 x 36.5 x 5 (9.25 x 14.25 x 2 in) and 34.5 x 36.5 x 5 (13.5 x 14.25 x 2 in)

The pages of this Michelin guide, at one time, provided a round trip gastronomic adventure throughout all of France.  The particular symbols at the bottom of each page unlocked the potential that lay ahead.  This guidebook has circled the globe, in addition to France, as it was dispersed among faithful users.  Particular destinations had blossomed with potential and now these nodes of exploration have sprouted through to completion and lay in decay.

© andrew m. wenrick,  2012

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Stars and stripes

2010 – 2013, acrylic and paper on canvas, 5.38 x 2.18 meters (17.6 x 7.15 feet), [50 x 40 cm (19.7 x 15.75 in) each, 50 canvases total]

The single most quality that helps us identify geography is shape.  Take those boundaries away and an ambiguity sets in blurring relationships that allow us to ground ourselves.  Take everything else away and the vastness and iconic territories are distilled only to the place names held within those borders.

This piece is about taking the context out of the 50 states in America.  Each territory is giving the same size canvas and on that canvas are all the places names from that State, randomly scattered.  From afar, density and color is now the gauge in identifying contextual localities.  Up close, the jumble of names become familiar and repetitive.

Stars and stripes, 2010 – 2013, proposed installation view

© andrew m. wenrick,  2010 – 2013

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Somerville 11-37

2010, maps, paper, matte board, 50 x 65 cm (19.625 x 25.5 inches), Private collection, Boston, usa

These 48 squares represent the 48 continental United States. They are laid out in alphabetical order except for the 11 states (squares) that have a town named Somerville. Those 11 squares are roughly placed geographically according to the map of the USA. So the 11 squares are exposed, with the town Somerville in the center of the cutouts while the other 37 squares have a portion of the map of that state behind a floating white square with a reveal around the edges for a glimpse behind. The cut Somerville squares differ in contour steepness according to the density and size of the cities compared against each other.

© andrew m. wenrick,  2010