Our Orientation to Art and Design class was given a "mental mapping" project to complete in a couple of weeks.  The class was divided into four different groups.  While every group created a product that was fairly successful, one map out SHINED the rest...quite literally.

The map that...remains "lit" in my head shows pieces of art at the Walker Art Center.  These pieces of art are represented by LED lights - red lights denoting female artists, blue lights denoting male artists.  The lights protrude through holes poked in two very sleekly spray painted black boards of foam core.  The floor plan of the Walker Art Center was what contained all of these lights, denoted by a silver outline that is just as sleek as the paint.  The lights are placed according to where they actually exist at the Walker.  Also on the black foam core is included a map key...in the shape of an actual key!  It shows the information that I explained in the sentences above, red light = female, blue light = male.  I thought this was a pretty humorous take on map key's.  

The great aesthetic of this map contributes to the fact that the information being represented is very successful.  It is fun to look at, but more importantly it is clear and concise and all the things a map should be.  There needn't be an explanation as to what this map is trying to convey, which is wonderful.  Even more, the map forces the viewer to think about why the information displayed is the way it is...why do the blue lights out number the red lights to such an exaggerated extent?  Why are there more red lights here, blue lights there...?  Remembering that the red lights are representative of female artists, and blue of male, I was forced to face the sad reality of what this map was telling me - the art world was at one point EXTREMELY male dominant and has only recently [thanks to the Feminist Art Movement of the late 60s and 70s] become influenced by female artists.  This is very evident in the Walker's collection, as it probably is in any art gallery or museum.  Good thing is...IT IS CHANGING AS THE YEARS GO BY!  Females are becoming more adequately represented in the art world as the years progress and this makes me very happy.