Drawn on the back of a fax cover page, this map provides directions from 237 East Ontario Street to two of the tallest buildings in Chicago: the Sears Tower (Willis Tower) and 311 South Wacker St. The HDMA received this anonymous submission in an envelope along with a pink Post-it stating “my boss, owner of the Film and Tape Works, makes these all time. It’s hilarious.”
Let’s find meaning in found text by exploring the words surrounding us at home. The strange, repetitive phrases that inundate our daily lives can become slogans for our personal realities. For example, think about the endless text on the products in your bathroom and how much this text might say about your daily identity construction. Consider Claire Saffitz joyfully reading long lists of ingredients and how this underscores not only the nearly impossible task of recreating a factory-produced snack food but also our relationship to manufactured food in the 21st century.
Begin by choosing a room in your home. We’ll be trying to capture the spirit of that space through text, so find a room containing many objects with words on their surface. Start exploring the space by looking for text within it. Notice objects you use regularly but don’t necessarily read: your Sharpie marker, your coffee mug, a warning sticker on your lamp. Record any words and phrases that grab your attention. Notice things like repetition, lists, and slogans. You don’t have to write everything down. Instead, try to focus on the text that captures the mood of the specific space and its role in your daily life.
In the journal entry (at top), for example, I wrote down text found in my basement. Of particular importance in that space are some boxes that remain unpacked: “Small / The Home Depot / Pratt 100% Recycled / Small / Pequeña … Be Orange / Think green.” Text from a calendar becomes a nod to the repetition of days while being quarantined “…April / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday…” and text found on the back of Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook lends a hopeful reach towards traveling again someday “…maybe she’s on a photo shoot in Zanzibar.” I didn’t set out to make a poem about these ideas, but instead discovered along the way how the objects in the space coincide with my experience right now. This weird little collection of text really is a portrait of my life during the pandemic.
The poems alone can be seen as unique maps defining space through words rather than lines or symbols. Certainly you could take the text further by incorporating it into a fully realized drawing. You could, for example, combine the text with a diagram of the space or conform the text to lines that mimic linear perspective.
Additional Inspiration: cartographies of home
Michelle managed to capture a lot of detail in her small map (3×5 inches). She accurately depicts the familiar layout of Amsterdam and includes some of her recommendations for things to see. She didn’t explain why she drew the map, but I think we should all spend an afternoon experiencing her Amsterdam the next time we’re there.
Amanda received this map from a hotel bartender in Gloucester, Massachusetts who recommended Charlie’s Place for breakfast. She writes, “the gist was to turn left at the hotel [INO] onto the coast road, bear left at the Y-intersection, turn left at a stop sign, and Charlie’s Place was on the left, across from the Stop and Shop. If you get to the White Hen, you’ve gone too far.” As of today, the restaurant is still there, so now you have the recommendation too.
Amanda drew this map for her family when they came to visit her while she was studying abroad in Paris. Since they were arriving while she was still in class, she mapped out her neighborhood and included some recommendations for things they could do until she came home that evening.
Throughout our shelter in place, I’ve been thinking a lot about food. In my house, this happens mostly through lists. We have a list of recipes to try and a list of our favorite, easy-to-cook meals. We have a list of meals that make leftovers for lunch and a list of neighborhood restaurants still doing take out. Most importantly, we have a hopeful, idealized shopping list that inevitably gets edited at the store depending on what’s in stock. Not to worry, we also have a list of food to look for during next week’s outing. So……let’s draw a map of a food memory.
While focusing your attention on your memories of food, list any associations that pop into your mind. Use the prompts below or simply spend some time with your thoughts.
Begin your drawing by choosing a subject. You could create a map of the best pizzas you’ve ever eaten (or the worst), a diagram of your ideal salad, or a map of your quarantine take out splurges.
It’s worth taking a moment to consider the importance of geography to the memory you’ve chosen. If specific places are key elements, be sure to include details that reference geography (as in the map of childhood car rides above). If not, your drawing can be more of a diagram. In the drawing below, for example, I’ve focused on individual foods and ingredients rather than cartographic details.
Additional Inspiration: maps to food
As many of us are looking for useful distractions right now, I’d like to share some activities we can draw at home. I’ll be posting a new one each week for the next few weeks. Today I’m sharing a version of an idea I proposed to the Museum of Modern Art. Although we ended up using a different project, I think this one is perfectly suited for those of us sheltering in place.
Please interpret the drawing exercise as you wish. The word neighborhood, for example, can mean many different things. I generally think of my neighborhood as the walkable area near my home. You may choose to interpret it as a favorite route done either by walking, biking, or driving. You could even do a version of this exercise by focusing on your memories of the neighborhood where you grew up.
Let’s start by writing a few lists. I like to use note cards, but use what you have on hand. For each prompt, try not to overthink it. Let your brain wander as you write. We will use these lists later to incorporate ideas into a finished map drawing.
For the first list, think practically. How would you describe your neighborhood to others? How would you provide directions to get there? Do you live near a popular store, park, museum, restaurant? What places would you recommend to a visitor?
For the second list, consider the details. List the things that have caught your attention in the past. The things you notice every day. The mundane things others might not notice. The uneven sidewalk you trip over, the car that never moves, your neighbors’ charmingly odd decorations.
For the third list, and if you are able, go for a walk in your neighborhood. As you walk, try to notice new things. This is also a good opportunity to note any changes. What’s different today? Once you return home, quickly jot down the things you noticed on your walk.
Use Letter or A4 size paper. Larger paper is great too. You’ll have more room to explore while drawing. Pencils, a gel pen, and a Sharpie marker are my favorite drawing tools, but whatever you have on hand is perfect. This is a great time to break out the colored pencils as color can be especially useful for adding emphasis.
Let this drawing be less about an accurate map of the area and more about the specific details you have uniquely discovered about your neighborhood. Yes, you can look at a map online, but drawing is such a good way of getting time away from screens. You live in this place every day, so you already have a good understanding of its geography. You possess a wealth of information about the area and this information is unique to you. It’s this personalized information that makes your map more interesting than the analytical Google map of your zip code. Think of this map as your commentary on the area surrounding your home.
If sharing your map online, you may want to leave out specific details that reveal the exact location of your home. I suggest drawing the area surrounding your home, but skipping the representation of your home itself.
A good place to start is to think about how someone would travel to your neighborhood. Use your first list as a guide. What is the major street or public transit route that brings people to the area? What places might someone recognize or notice? Draw these important landmarks on your paper.
Continue to incorporate elements from your other lists. Add streets and routes as you go. Use symbols or written descriptions to reference your unique understanding of the area. There is no right or wrong way to approach the drawing. Remember the process of thinking about a familiar place in a new and interesting way is itself an important exercise.
Additional Inspiration: neighborhood maps
Martin’s friend drew this map for him when he was visiting Berlin. While there, he wanted to explore the Wedding neighborhood of the city via bike. I particularly like the use of office supplies. Highlighters provide the absolute best colors for map-making. Please buy some and use them in your cartography.
This map traces a police chase that grabbed the attention of people living in the Tree Streets neighborhood of Waynesboro, Virginia. One of Tony’s coworkers witnessed part of the chase, and drew this map to show where he was standing when the cars came around a corner.
This is a map worth keeping. Even though it’s not particularly practical for navigation, it’s a cool piece of ephemera with a fun story. A video store clerk drew it for Renee and her boyfriend when they stopped to ask for directions to a popular sushi restaurant. The clerk quickly drew a few lines on the back of a slip of paper used to label videotapes damaged by customers. Even in 2008, this object was a relic of the past. The rendering was not only incredibly vague but also completely wrong. Despite the map, Renee and Bruce eventually found the sushi restaurant. They also kept the piece of paper using it as a bookmark before eventually sending it to the HDMA.
