photo: Jennifer Marvillas, “71 Square Miles,” 2012-ongoing

A prime impetus for visual artists has been to better understand and interpret the world around them.  In contemporary practice, artists observe, collect, explore, interact, depict, and diagram. Cartographers follow similar impulses in seeking to give visual form to geography and to physical space. Mapping Brooklyn juxtaposes the work of contemporary artists working with historic maps, with examples of maps themselves, suggesting the myriad ways that maps can represent, on the one hand, such practical matters as way finding, property ownership, population shifts, and war strategy, and on other, the terrain of the metaphorical, psychological, and personal. In the galleries at both venues, historic maps and contemporary works will be in dialogue, suggesting common themes—the desire to explore, chart, and analyze territory—and highlight the innovative ways that contemporary artists use mapping, cartography, and exploration, to reveal data, ideas, and emotions.

A key element of Mapping Brooklyn is its local focus. Brooklyn is not only an international center of the contemporary art world, but also the most populous of New York’s boroughs, with over 2.5 million residents.   It is a place of astounding diversity—few Brooklynites can claim familiarity with all of its neighborhoods and diverse cultures. It is also a place of change—neighborhoods and demographics are in constant flux, as are the built environment and use of land. With this exhibition, we aim to introduce visitors to the remarkable range of historic maps that have sought to study and document facets of the borough to contemporary art works that reveal mapping as a powerful means of representation.

Exhibit runs from February 26, 2015 to May 3, 2015.

Regular Museum Hours
Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5pm

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Admission is suggested donation.