Piri Reis Maps

The Newton Center for British-American Studies here at SCAD is an amazing place. It has been here for a while but I have only recently gone in. I loved it. They had many exhibits going, three of which were: 1) William Hogarth political etchings 2) American masterwork frames from 1890 - 1940 and 3) "Mapping the Past: A Selection of Antique Cartography from the Newton Collection"

I love maps. They ride the perfect balance between nature and science, abstraction and precision. Beyond they're usefulness they are beautiful, especially the old maps. I'm talking 15th, 16th century, when it was just as much an art as a science. The cartographers would embellish a map with fancies of design and etchings of now cryptic symbolism. The type of maps that really gets my blood flowing, however, are the ones which are wrong. Cartographers would leave off whole unknown geographies, or even better make them up. I want reprints of these for my walls. Where can I get quality reprints for cheap?

Anyway, this isn’t about maps that are wrong, but about a particular ancient map that is amazingly right. Piri Reis was a Turkish Admiral Guy in the fifteen hundreds who drew a map of much of the Atlantic coast lines to an accuracy that is uncanny. The Piri Reis map shows the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. The northern coastline of Antarctica is perfectly detailed. The most puzzling thing, however is not so much how Piri Reis managed to draw such an accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years before it was discovered, but that the map shows the coastline under the ice (currently a mile thick). Geological evidence shows that the latest date Queen Maud Land could have been charted in an ice-free state is 4000 BC. It took until 1949 for us to use seismic profiling to figure what Piri Reis knew in 1513 (21 years after Columbus found the West Indies). Piri Reis himself admitted that the map is not a pure original, but a combination of earlier maps. Where did this information come from? Due to the knowledge of spherical geography required, many people claim aliens, or ancient "gods" (same difference) provided the required insight. That's kind of conspiracy-theoryish, but is there a better explanation?

Here is a more detailed write up.

Ancient Oscars?!?

I just found out through the mighty power of the Internet that the Oscars, or something remarkably similar, go way back into antiquity. Ancient, primitive peoples in the Andes region in South America (later populated by the better known Inca) would have a form of a yearly celebration that included passing out golden statues out to their most talented members. These statues, speculatively called an "Intiwarmi", were unfortunately given misguidedly. Often the presenters of the Intiwarmi would not know the difference between familiarity and quality. Therefore their incredibly advanced society decayed into petty popularity struggles, and eventually ruin. It has been shown that the early Inca based most of their religion and indeed, culture on the practices of these forever-mysterious people. And as we all know, they too eventually fell into ruin.

The above example of recently discovered artwork shows a significant resemblance the Inca Tumi knife (pictured below), which is now used as symbol of good luck by Peruvians. However, even more momentous is the almost prophetic qualities of detail pertaining to the modern day Oscars. It is subtle, but if one were to look close one could almost make out vague similarities between several key elements and current film technology. Could these ancient people have possessed the sacred knowledge of Oscar Hype, Paparazzi, and Dirty Money? Could they have been so advanced as to master the fine art of manipulating the very essence of their own society through media saturation? Could they have produced artwork of such a supreme level as the Romantic-Comedy, or WWII Drama – what had been lost to humanity until only very recently? It is astonishing, but one need only look at the facts to see truth clearly shining through – Clint Eastwood could beat up Leonardo DiCaprio in a fist fight any day of the week.

Steve's Pet Peeve

The colors on this one might just be too wacky. I'm thinking of adding a Sunday newspaper-type texture multiplied over the background. Can you guess what my environmental pet peeve might be? Probably not. This becomes more of a exercise in bright colors rather than concept. This one has been too much of a struggle to nail concept and composition. I remember Beck saying something about ditching a song idea if it doesn't gel within the first half-hour. At first I thought that that was callous and wasteful, but now it seems like a valid system.

Umph

I don't like it when things that I am supposed to like disappoint me. I hate the lack of Umph. Justin has written about The Decemberists as if they are great. And they are great. On paper. And then you have people like Hunter S. Thomson. Whether you like his words or not, you have to admit he has an overload of Umph. Had an overload of Umph. He had so much, I guess he had to blow it out his head.

Anyway, my point is when I look at the creative work that I producing lately I don't see Umph. I see improvement from before, but I don't see what I want to. I want people to see my work and go, "Hey! Well, well, well . . . I'll be! Somebody slap me with a wet noodle cause I'm going down!" As opposed to, "Yeah, you got a pretty good use of color here. I'd like to see some more eyeballs, however. Oh yeah, and some blah and less blah."

Umph. Some people got it, and some don't. I want it.

Birthday Suit

Thanks for all the birthday wish from those of you who actually care. It was a wonderful birthday in an I'm-getting-old-enough-to-care-less-and-less-about-birthdays way. That sounds like it sucked, huh? Well, it didn't. Marigold and I just didn't do much. No Chucky Cheese this year. Butt the worldwide outpouring of sentiment was indeed wonderful. Also, I don't want to poo-poo the other gifts I received, but the new digital camera is, like wow, primo, unreal man. Now I don't have to share with Marigold, and you will see France in 5.0 Mega pixels. Also, I am lucky enough to have Mirabella and Abram (and their parents) visit me. Could a boy ask for more? Maybe, but I'm a man. A real man. With feelings. Sometimes.

Mira (4.75 years aged) and Bram (1.75 years aged) arrived last night around one A.M. and got right into the running and jumping and screaming and grabbing cat. Poor Lolita and Babs now have to find good hiding spots for the whole weekend.

I can hardly believe that I will leave for France in a month. I am uber excited about it all. I think that it will be a life changing experience. Or at the very least I will learn to be a snob. Either way I can’t lose! It will be difficult to leave Marigold for ten weeks, especially for her, but she will always have work. Bury yourself in your job, I always say. Besides I can’t feel too sorry for her, like Daddy says, “Don’t let your wife get in the way of your life! Now, get me a Blue Ribbon!”

My New Life as Dead Guy

Justin was completely right, Shaun of the Dead is about as life-affirming good as a zombie flick can be. I was in a very sour mood all afternoon into evening (like usual on a Computer Illustration day), but Shaun of the Dead picked me right up.

I would say more, but I have to clean up. My sister-in-law's family is visiting for the weekend. They're on Holiday, see? That's how the British talk, but with accents and random guttural noises. Anyway, I need to help my special lady friend fold and stack.

ADHD

(Cubist drawing influenced by Marshall Arisman in the Lane Smith technique)

The Society (of Illustrators) had another little contest. This time, a test of our very wits. Mono a mono. No holds bars. Two illustrators go in. One comes out. Uh . . . What was I talking about? Oh yeah, The Society's 24-Hour Illustration Challenge 2005. Last night at about nine in the PM I, and a bunch of other Joes, picked a subject out of a hat. Then to further strain our endurance we picked a market out of a second hat. Then, beyond all possible belief, we were forced to pick again! Out of another hat! This time, thank the good lord, the last time, we picked a size proportion out of the final dreaded hat. The next 24 hours were spelled out for me on three tiny slips of paper.

The subject - ADHD
The market - Editorial Magazine, Slightly Liberal
The size - 6 x 13

"Wow!" I thought, "That is pretty mundane considering what I could have gotten." Imagine if I picked a children's market instead. Or even worse, a Slightly Conservative Magazine!

So you'd think that since the thing was due the next evening at nine PM I would go home right away to work. My friends, you don't know me very well do you? Don't answer out loud, that was a rhetorical question.

No, I went home to read Batman comics lent to me from a friend. (Which have disappointed me, by the way. Terrible coloring. Mediocre story) Then I went to bed. To sleep, of course. I planned on doing all the work I needed to do in the morning. After all, I had all day, right? Wrong again, stranger. I forgot that I had all day meetings for my upcoming Lacoste, France trip and work in the afternoon.

To make a long story that much longer, I somehow finished the piece and I actually like it. I was thinking of Senior Cory Pinter and the rest of his crazy family when coming up with ideas.

Moral of the story - I'm not mad a you, Cory, even though you hate my boring website.

Crackle Crackle

These were made with some chemicals that I'm sure are toxic and will stunt my swimmers or soemthing like that. First I did a drawing in ink on 140lb. watercolor paper, then watercolor it in. After that there is a two step aging and cracking varnish chemical dump. Smear a dark oil paint over the whole piece and then wipe it off, in order to fill the cracks with value. Finally some touch up with acrylic or gouache on top. It is a neat effect but I found that the cracks sometimes got in the way of the drawing. Still these two came out somewhat charming.

Chicken Big

Piggy Butt (I'm so fat!)

The Violin Leave

Searching through the weeds for his lost kazoo, little Ben couldn't have anticipated the truly wonderful treasure he was about to find. It was definitely not any humdrum kazoo. With his eyes lit up and his trembling hands clutching the heavenly gift he ran the thirteen miles home without noticing his surroundings one bit. He didn't see the wasted nuclear plant smoking away. He didn't see the pack of ravenous hippos eyeing him dangerously. He didn't see the television lights.

"Mom! Mom!" Ben screamed as he neared the house.

His mother, straightening up from the rave party of the previous night, glanced in Ben's direction. "You better have a good explanation for your behavior, Bennito Gorgeous-Toeface Pennyrich. That young lady you were with is spread all over the lawn!"

"Come on, Mom. That's not important. Look at this!" Ben opened his cramped fingers, and like an ancient tomb unearthed, the contents spilled forth. Ben and his mother, voluptuous as she was, stared in ecstasy as row upon row of bejeweled ostriches marched out of a tiny cigar.

"Take us to your Leader!" the ostriches chimed in chorus. "Take us to your Leader!"

Ben couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he found The Legendary Lost Tribe of Billy, but he could do anything he wished with it. With his full-bosomed mother watching in shock, Ben leaned in and whispered slowly and carefully, "I am your leader."

File Under: True Crime

Obra Incompleta

I came across this guy, Vik Muniz, while looking through a book called Masters of Deception. The book covers a whole gambit of artists that deal with tricks of the eye in some way or another. Some were just cheap trompe l'oeil, but some artist were doing some amazing things. Like Shigeo Fukuda. His shadow sculptures are really great. This is something I thought of a few years back (I have the crappy sketchbook notes to prove it), but, of course, never pursued. It just goes to show that one can never think of anything new, especially little, dumb me.
But let's get back to Vic Muniz, huh? This Brazilian dude creates images out of the most unlikely substances - wire, thread, sugar, dirt over a lightbox, Chocolate, piles of toys, dust, nails, and even clouds. Unfortunately, he expends all his imagination on the process or material of the image, without much thought about the content. He usually "copies" or pays homage to well known pieces of art, like Time-Life photos, Stieglitz, Warhol, Smithson, and so on. Still, the images he creates are amazing and insanely clever. For instance, he noticed that people like to watch other people draw. He is right, it is a magical process to many people. Therefore, he hired a plane to draw cartoonish pictures of clouds over the Manhattan skyline. Or he recreates the Nasca Lines (which are absolutely amazing, by the way) but with modern everyday objects, like a coat hanger, or envelope. One of his most effective process is with the hole-punched magazine pages (like the self portrait above). I am trying to think of a way to incorporate something along these lines for an illustration. It fits with my scrumbly, collage, textured surface look that I have been leaning towards lately. Most likely, I will forget all about it, and swear that I've never heard of any Vik Muniz before, or for that matter, any fancy dream country called Brazil.