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Geographic aesthetics take stage in 'Art + Maps'

Is it art or is it a map? Find out at CU's "Art + Maps" exhibit. (Photo is of a USGS Lostman’s trail quadrangle map.)



A unique exhibit at the University of Colorado Boulder juxtaposes the mundane and pragmatic world of maps with the exotic and idealistic world of art. University Libraries has teamed up with four local and regional artists to offer an “Art + Maps” exhibit. The exhibit can be viewed in the CU Map Library, on the lower level of the Bruce Benson Earth Sciences building.

This exhibit compares and contrasts art and maps in an extraordinary display. Some works of art have elements that suggest landforms or physical features one might normally see on a map. Similarly, some maps have artistic appearances that blur the line between utilitarianism and beauty.

The "Art + Maps" exhibit provides the audience with a novel experience that will reveal the similarities and differences between art and maps in a way most people have never considered, the library contends.

The four artists whose work is displayed are:

Karl Mueller, CU-Boulder Geological Sciences Department
Mueller enhances remote-sensing images of digital elevation data to create images that appear more artistic than they do utilitarian.

Paki Sulaiman folds II by Karl Mueller



Barbara Olson, Boulder fiber artist
Olson crafts quilts that mimic earth features.

Water Trails (detail) by Barbara Olson



Alan Paine Radebaugh, New Mexico painter
Radebaugh produces paintings of organic shapes that can often simulate map features.

Night Three by Alan Paine Radebaugh



Michael Theodore, CU-Boulder College of Music, Theory and Composition Department
Theodore creates pen and watercolor works on paper that evoke map-like features.

organism/mechanism viii by Michael Theodore



Reception on June 19

There will be a reception with the artists on Thursday, June 19, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the exhibit in the CU Map Library, located on the lower level of the Bruce Benson Earth Sciences building.

Map to Benson Earth Sciences building:
http://www.colorado.edu/campusmap/map.html?bldg=BESC

The exhibit will be available for viewing until Dec. 12. The Map Library is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information see the Earth Sciences and Map Library, http://ucblibraries/earthsciences/index.htm