Thursday, April 30, 2009

Experimental Cartography


Nearly 30 years ago, Alasdair MacIntyre wrote After Virtue in which he described the fragmentary state of contemporary life in post-modernity. Not only has morality or ethics become fragmented and uprooted from their orienting contexts, but more likely the entirety of our existence. Under such fragmentation, how can we come to know ourselves and our place in this world. What does this mean for how we orient ourselves, and understand the orientation of others? Can there be any commonality apart from this fragmentation?

Ive been toying with this idea of mapping as an extension of my place studies recently. This piece is just a little conceptual exercise of mapping utilizing various recognizable forms or structures and text. And yet, its familiarity fades quickly under the weight of a plurality of places, maps, and unconnected and empty space.