Yes I am a little Obsessed! I did warn you though..
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| Yayoi Kusama and her cover for the London Underground Map |
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| 1949 - H Beck London Map |
No, it is not another blog post about Yayoi Kusama, but instead about how artists such as Kusama (above) and the London Underground have come together to bring a little "piece of art" to everyone.
For those of you that have ever visited London, you will know how important the "TUBE" is to get around from one point to another. The original London Underground diagram, designed by Harry Beck is one of the greatest designs of the twentieth century. He introduced many of the symbols that have become a staple to all transportation maps, such as the circles to indicate connections, color coding and other small graphic details which enable the user to not only comprehend the complex system of transportation that lies just below the surface, while producing a simple, easy to follow piece of information graphics.
While browsing through the internet on the hunt for more information on Kusama's work, I came across this collection of Maps on Phaidon.com that were commissioned by Art on the Underground which made me feel a little "homesick" for London.
It's so rich in culture and continues to make every effort to maintain and support it's artists of every caliber and style. From the Turner Prize, to these efforts of mass marketing on the simplest of scales, each Londoner and visitor walks away with a chance to become part of the integral lines that make up the city. The tube lines.
Discover just but a few of the maps that made me smile.. and a little more about each of the artists here.
SARAH MORRIS - Painter, Film Maker
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| 'Petrobras [Rio]' by Sarah Morris 17th cover Tube map series December 2012 |
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| Sarah Morris - People's Bank [Los Angeles], 2004 |
MICHAEL LANDY - sculptor, performance artist
tracing of the artist’s own hand in pencil; the creases and lines of the hand are represented by lines drawn in the various colors of the Tube map
July 2011 - Michael Landy - All my lines in the palm of your hand
Michael Landy: Saints Alive at London's National Gallery
RICHARD LONG - Installation artist // Sculptor
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01 Sep 2009- Richard Long - Earth |
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RICHARD LONG, MUD HAND CIRCLES - NEW YORK 1989
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| Dec 2008 - Pae White - ...fragment of a Magic Carpet, circa 1213 |
using the flying carpet motif as a suggestion of magical transport
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| Pae White - Installation |
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| Eva Rothschild, Good Times (March 2011) |
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| Legend - Eva Rothschild - 2009 (c) TATE |
JEREMY DELLER - conceptual, video and installation artist. Social commentator.
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| Jun 2007 - Jeremy Deller with Paul Ryan Portrait of John Hough |
John Hough, Transport for London’s longest serving member of staff retired that June & Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller decided to honor him with this portrait.
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DAVID SHRIGLEY - illustrator, visual artist
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| Nov 2005 - David Shrigley - Untitled |
an abstract tangle made up of the same colored lines used on the Tube map itself
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| Hard Work - 2000 - David Shrigley |
PAUL NOBLE - The artist that masters the pencil
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| Paul Noble, Untitled (December 2008) |
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| Paul Noble -Acumulus Noblitatus |
YINKA SHONIBARE - British-Nigerian artist living in London whose work explores cultural identity
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| Yinka Shonibare MBE - Global Underground Map |
Yinka Shonibare's Global Underground Map is the artist's vision of London - and London Underground and its users - as a microcosm of the world.
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| Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Fibreglass, steel, brass, resin, UV ink on printed cotton textile, linen rigging, acrylic and wood National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |
for those that are interested... there is an article on DeZeen of the newly redesigned map, which is meant to have a more literal geographical layout by London designer Mark Noad.
*images of maps via Phaidon.com
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