Enlightened mapping

Tim, Shelby and June mapped the distribution of men and women artists throughout the Walker Art Museum. They used blue lights to show works of art created by men and pink lights to show works of art created by women. The lights were displayed on black foam core with silver lines delineating the floor plan of the Walker. The results were typical: more men artists than woman artists were featured at the museum. Although the information that was mapped was simple and straightforward the display was interesting, eye-catching and sleek. The group made a good decision when they did not over clutter their design however, it would have been nice and perhaps more clear as to where the art was located had the galleries been identified somewhere in the map. Had the group done this the viewer would be able to see what type of art was male or female dominated which would be another chance to talk about the men and women and the media with which they work. The group chose a bit of information that every person can relate to, that being the sexes. Because of this fact I believe that there map was not just purely informational and more of a statement. As a female and an art student I reacted personally to the information which then led to thoughts about a male dominated art world and the history of women artists. With out any intention or explanation, the map has the ability to spur a heated conversation about the politics of Art on display. In this way, I believe that the group was successful in the assignment. They created a good looking map that displayed interesting information and had the ability to spur interesting conversation.