Video: For the Essentially Subjective Elements of Cartography, 1953-1995

A few weeks back Matthew W. Wilson and I presented at the 2017 ICC. See below for both the video and slides.

Abstract: The tendency within more colloquial histories of cartography in the United States is to consider the work of the 20th century as a progressive development of cartographic efficacy, from techniques in hand-drawn mapmaking through functionalistic thematic mapping principles to computational and analytical cartography and geographic information systems. A key figure of these more colloquial narratives around the history of cartography in the latter half of the last century is Arthur Robinson. We can witness the 'trouble' of cartographic efficacy in Robinson's writing, particularly around what he considers 'essentially subjective' aspects of cartographic design and map use. This ‘trouble’ remains in different intensities throughout cartographic pedagogy. Our presentation will discuss analysis of 65 years since his published book The Look of Maps, and argue that, alongside this tendency toward ever progressive cartographic efficacy has been a somewhat nascent grappling with what might be meant by 'cartographic aesthetics'. As such, we attempt to conceptualize a wider notion of aesthetics in map design -- one that incorporates the 'unintelligible' aspects of nonetheless effective cartographic objects -- and discuss implications of such a conceptualization for the practice of critical mapping.

For the Essentially Subjective Elements of Cartography, 1953-1995 from Amber Bosse