Thursday 31 May 2012

Queen Elizabeth I Minds the Map...


Art work by BCS Member Peter Vujakovic, for our Maplines Magazine, has been chosen for inclusion in the London Transport Museum’s (LTM) major Summer Exhibition. The exhibition about the history and creativity behind London transport maps opened on Friday 18 May 2012 and continues until 28 October. Mind the Map: inspiring art, design and cartography draws on the Museum’s art work and map collection to explore the themes of journeys, identity and publicity. The exhibition includes previously unseen historic material and exciting new work by leading artists. Over 20,000 people will read about Maplines Magazine and The British Cartographic Society as they pass through the exhibition this summer.
Peter’s cartoon satirises the attempt by Transport for London to remove the Thames from the iconic tube map in 2009. The cartoon shows Queen Elizabeth I astride the tube map indicating her displeasure at its removal and requiring that it is replaced before she takes the Royal Barge to town. The cartoon originally featured in the Winter 2009 issue of Maplines, the magazine of the British Cartographic Society. Peter is Professor of Geographical and Life Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University, a member of the society and is a co-convenor of its Map Design Special Interest Group. See past editions of Maplines to see Peter's view of how other great minds of the past might grapple with the big issues of today!.
It is interesting to consider that this image is on display in the Jubilee year in which Elizabeth II will take to the Thames on her Royal Barge. The cartoon re-works the famous Ditchley portrait (1592) in which Elizabeth I stands on a map of England.

In support of the exhibition and the London Mapping Festival The BCS are also pleased to host a free talk by Claire Dobbin, Senior Curator of the exhibition, at our
Symposium on Wednesday 13th June 2012, near Basingstoke. The 
talk is open to anyone, irrespective of whether they have registered for the BCS Annual Symposium or not. 

1 comment:

  1. That map in the Ditchley Portrait helped me to solve one of Henry Holiday's conundrums in Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark": http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnetmaker/6845161729/in/photostream

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