The Art of Maps...

Let me start by saying that I do fellow geographers a disservice here. I am neither critical nor academic in my following comments (though I attempt, vaguely, to be just that.)

Recently I showed a friend/colleague of mine my "new" blog, complete with all of the designs in Photoshop that I'd worked on/relaxed with over the course of Reading Week. I was pretty proud of it, especially given the fact that I have very little experience in Photoshop as a whole (preferring the 'ease' and simplicity of Paint Shop Pro).  On the surface, my friend's comment was "Nice!"  Underlying that (and particularly, though not exclusively, in response to my newly crafted "wax seal") was the remark "[I]t looks a bit Old World colonial..."

Now in fairness to my friend (whom I have paraphrased slightly), I have to agree. The nostalgia that is conjured up by images of dried parchment, compass roses and old wax seals brings with it a host of trouble, the least of which are the implications associated with colonial "mappings" of the world.  For geographers, it (should) bring to mind a series of questions, including: "What do these maps represent?"  "Whom does this representation exclude?" "Where's Waldo?" (I kid.)

The thing is, as a geographer, I've wrestled with my love of old-style maps. As an artist, I think they're absolutely beautiful (and I want nothing more than an old, discoloured map of the world framed for my office). There are times when I want to (and do) set aside my critical academic eye to appreciate the "beauty" that old maps possess.  I feel the same way about old books as well.  There is, however, a bit more irony to this story - the fact that I am neither white, nor male - the essentialized characteristics of those who dutifully mapped the world based on their sole interpretation.  Should a woman of colour love colonial representations as much as I do?  Am I somehow "betraying the cause" with my love for aesthetics? Where is that line?

(With thanks to PSHero for the psd file for this wax seal. I'd love to have done this tutorial in its entirety but... I cannot - yet- use the pen tool with any degree of accuracy.)