December 2012
La Petite Mort Gallery presents
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC goes GHETTO
December 7 – 30, 2012
Vernissage December 7 / 7 – 10pm
Tunes by Bic Mac Daddy
Proudly Sponsored by CKCU 93.1 FM
ALL MAPS ARE $300 EACH.
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Statement:
National Geographic has helped to shape many of our personal perceptions of global identities throughout our youth, as well as into our adult lives. This connection is complex and evolving, and in time for the holiday season one cannot help but feel certain closeness to the global community at large. La Petite Mort has acquired several rare National Geographic maps, and these collectors’ items have been selected for an interactive artistic project. We’ve invited 25 artists to participate by making a selection – each artist will be given the opportunity to choose from an array of authentic vintage National Geographic maps, which range in years from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. These maps vary in size, colorization, detail, and even smell. They depict such exotic and historical places as the following: Historic and Scenic Reaches of the Nation’s Capital (Washington), India and Burma, Lands of the Bible Today, Europe and the Near East, New Zealand, Historical Map of the United States, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Germany and its Approaches, Countries of the Caribbean, Southwest Asia, the Pacific Ocean, California, and many more!
We ask you to imagine how you saw the world in your youth, what images or feelings were inspired by your interactions with National Geographic in the past? You are called to express a way of perceiving based on memory and recollection – how did we envision the world as children? How has this changed? The sentimentality one may feel towards National Geographic has formed how we interpret the world. We ask that you then put these recollections back onto the maps that inspired them in the form of an artistic piece. Once all the maps have been transformed, they will be hung in La Petite Mort. The end result will be a unification of the world, as the maps will be used to cover an entire wall. Our goal is to pull the world together using the medium of art. – Text by Laura Carusi, 2012