Week 3- The Ageny of Mapping

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214-215

Corner states that maps have agency because of their double-sidedness.    What are the two sides and what is their relationship?

225

Corner uses the word “milieu” in contrast to the traditional notion of “site”.  Does this term more effectively describe the space/time in which mappings occur?  If so, speculate on consequences this could have on the approaches to, and form of site analysis practice.

226

Corner writes: “Such fantastic play across the world’s various surfaces is characterized not only by a fertile heterogeneity but also by conceptual elements coming loose from their traditional moorings.  The boundaries between different foundational realities have become so blurred, in fact, that it is practically impossible in a cyber-world to distinguish between what is information and what is concrete, what is fact and what is fiction, what is space and what is time.” Is there a contradiction between this “blurring” and “fertile heterogeneity”? Why or why not?

228

What are the distinctions between “mapping (or maps)” and “planning (or plan)” and can a correlation be drawn between these and Arnheim’s dialectic of static and dynamic abstraction?

Discuss Corner’s notion of mapping and our traditional idea of the map in terms of “utility” or what Matta-Clark describes as “use factor.”

Can a map or the activity of mapping ever be objective or neutral?

25

Compare and contrast Loran’s, Hockney’s and Mossel’s analytical approaches.  Tufte clearly disapproves of Mossel’s.  What are his reasons and are they fair?

24

Are Loran’s diagrams effective in explaining Cezanne’s construction of the picture plane as a plastic form?  Why or why not?

What are the differences between Corner’s and Tufte’s approach to mapping?

Nissen Questions:

Corner
1.                   Contrast Corner’s distinction between mapping and tracing?
2.                   What are the advantages and disadvantages of Mecator’s projection and Buckminster Fuller’s dymaxion projection?
3.                   How does the work of the child psychologists relate to maps relationship with reality?
4.                   In summarizing Harvey’s argument, what are the inherent problems with New Urbanism?
5.                   How does the Situationist usage of mapping differ from the Colonialist?