Visual Arts Undergraduates - The New School

 Visit from 12 students from Visual Arts Undergraduates - The New School.

This course elaborates on issues of place, representations of the self
and the world we inhabit. It utilizes the map as a paradigm and a
pre-text for conducting research in real and imaginary places, in the
inner world of memories and fantasies and the outer world of streets and
dwellings.The physical and mental exploration of our immediate territory
– namely, the City of New York – will be the springboard to develop a
personal approach to the existing environment. Students’ creative output
will focus on a subject-centered, affective way of mapping that best
expresses their experience of place, while analyzing and exploring the
history and transformations of the city. The cityscape will be our
laboratory, and provide a multi-sensory inventory; texts, maps,
photographs, and art projects will be studied and integrated within
class projects. Field trips and readings will inspire drawings,
mixed-media documentations, and journals that will stretch the notion of
what a map is, and what it can actually do.

In the last two weeks we have been looking at maps from various time
periods and places. Students were extremely taken by the variety of maps
that can be found, and particularly the ancient ones. They also made a
drawing exercise in which they analyzed and drew from old maps of New
York and compared them with new ones. So it would be interesting if they
could get a chance to see some of the old maps in your collection, and
then look more specifically at New York City maps (including the
property maps). I believe this will help them in conceving their final
project, which requires them to focus on a New York City neighborhood or
area and develop a map about a feature of their choice. I expect the
visit to last about one hour, and maybe have them spend some time
afterwards searching the digital database on their own (if possible). I
have 12 students in the class.