Yesterday I went through all my 2008 entries and began to compile this year’s maps like I’ve done for previous years. However, this year I decided to expand the listing to include designs & animations that I’ve made.
The rationale for this expansion was rather simple: if these yearly listings are to be aggregates of my creative work, they might as well include everything. I’m a bit tepid about going through the previous years to find creations that I might have missed, but I imagine that I’ll get around to doing it. Also, since this website has gone public, I’ve found myself sharing content that I did not create and this makes it more difficult to decipher what I’ve created and what I have found on-line & decided to share here.
Today’s creation is the start of a new series of New York City maps that I expect to make in the coming days. This morning I discovered that the USGS has released newer imagery of New York City that was taken in March of 2006.
However, as with other imagery, I’ve found that the older imagery is of better quality. Its not that this new imagery is fuzzy or not as sharp, but rather I found the coloration to be more subdued. The 2004 imagery, which I used to produce all of my previous New York City maps, is more vivid and the colors just look nicer. With that issue aside, I’ve made a few different tessellations that I’m going to be using for the next set of maps of New York City.
This map shows the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as a tiny portion of Brooklyn and a larger portion of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I tried a few different Quilt projection shapes and finally settled on using the Diamond Quilt Projection because I like the way the bridges create a square box within the diamond layout. I have made a derivative tessellation of this map, but I think I’m going to use some of the other imagery first.
View the Google Map of the Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges.
View the rest of the map’s close-up details:
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Pornographic Tessellations
5/14/2008 || 6:12 pm
Swampoodle Quilt #3
Using this portion of Swampoodle Quilt #2, I constructed this derivative Diamond Quilt Projection map of the area around the 2008 Art-O-Matic venue in the Swampoodle neighborhood in Washington, DC.
After making this map I conceived an alternative procedural route to constructing future derivative maps. Those of you that have read this blog for awhile know that I do sequential maps, where you can literally see the visual process of what part of the previous map was used to construct the next map. However, this recursive process shows all the intermediate maps, when sometimes I just want to get to the final map. So the idea is to make smaller maps, like 12,000 x 12,000 (square not 3:2) and sample these maps first and not publish the intermediate maps. For example, I make a map of a new location and after processing that map, I sample it and render another map, sample that map, and render that map as the final map of the geography. The difference here is that I would not publish the intermediate maps as [City] Quilt #2, #3, etc. but just the final map. I’m going to try that next.
View the Google Map of the Swampoodle neighborhood in Ward 6 of Washington, DC.
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Quadrant Map of DC - Translated into Latin - "Novus Columbus Quadrans"
5/7/2008 || 6:42 am
Swampoodle Quilt
I chose this site because it’s where Artomatic is at!
Swampoodle is an old name used to describe a small section of the H Street neighborhood in Northeast Washington, DC. The area was first settled in the 1850s by immigrants fleeing the Irish potato famine. A geographic approximation of its borders would be K Street to the north, G Street to the south, 1st Street NW to the west, and 2nd Street NE to the east. Through the center of it, just east of North Capitol Street, ran the principal branch of Tiber Creek, creating the low swampy ground from which the area took its name.
A few years ago developers created the North of Massachusetts Avenue Business Improvement District, or NOMA and have tried to rebrand the neighborhood to something different.
When making the map I concluded that at the time of the aerial photography’s acquisition, it was still called Swampoodle and not NOMA. The same goes for Google Maps, which shows an even older glimpse (from spring 2002) of the changing neighborhood.
Personally, I think the name Swampoodle gives the area character in name. In contemporary identity, the area is mostly a bunch of warehouses and parking lots that are about to be developed, so I look forward to seeing a Swampoodle map in 10 years. It will look drastically different and I just hope its not called some focus group-approved abbreviation of a geographic region.
View the Google Map of the Swampoodle neighborhood in Ward 6 of Washington, DC.
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Columbia Quilt #2
4/18/2008 || 1:29 pm
Boston Common Quilt #2
Using this portion of yesterday’s map, I constructed this derivative Diamond Quilt Projection map of the area around Boston Common and the Massachusetts State House.
View the Google Map of Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Roll Call's Photo of the Week features the DC Colonist
3/28/2008 || 3:46 pm
Vassar Quilt Refraction
Using this portion of Vassar Quilt #2, I made this derivative map of Vassar College using added elements from the Lenz projection. The optics create a very unique sense of depth at the center of the map. I also added four other optical elements that create a fluvial design, almost appearing to flow toward the center.
View the Google Map of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: Comparative Meta-Data of the USGS Orthoimagery of Washington, DC - 2002 / 2005
3/2/2008 || 11:43 am
Washington + Dupont Circle Quilt
I decided to switch things up a bit with today’s rendering. I have become very efficient with most of the processes used to create my maps, which both makes them standardized and sometimes a bit too similar to each other (while paradoxically being different geographies). This map and probably the next few maps are going to be slightly different.
In order to have the most recent maps of Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, and Washington Circle look similar to each other, I would take the first derivative tessellation and overlay it on top of the tessellation that I was constructing. By adjusting the transparency, I can overlay the circles directly on top of each other which makes the subsequent map look nearly identical.
Normally, I simply delete the original tessellation when I have the two lined up perfectly, however in today’s map I chose to not delete the other map. Instead, I adjusted the transparency of Dupont Circle to 51% to show both geographies at once. The result is something that I wasn’t expecting, but am quite pleased with the results. I can see myself using this process again. It’s like a double exposure…
View the Google Map of Washington Circle in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC.
View the Google Map of Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
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2/17/2008 || 4:41 pm
87 & 280 Quilt #2
Using this portion of 87 & 280 Quilt, I constructed this derivative map of the California State Route 87 & interstate 280 interchange. What is unique is that it’s a actually a Diamond Quilt Projection map, but it looks quite a bit like a Square Quilt Projection maps. The third derivative tessellation looks quite cool and I think the next map will be the best in the series.
View the Google Map of the interchange.
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2/3/2008 || 7:52 pm
Charlotte Spheres #2
Using a portion of Charlotte Spheres #1, I created this derivative map. I noticed that there was over-projection in some parts of the first map, so I under-projected this map to reduce further pixilation. The result is one of the most exquisite quilt projection maps yet! It has a nice assortment of aerial photography at multiple scales and the geometric designs of the original buildings standout quite nicely. I look forward to getting this printed eventually because it’s quite fun to look at.
Speaking of printing, I spent some of my hard-earned funds on a 60″ x 40″ canvas print of Federal Triangle Quilt #4. This is the largest printing I’ve ordered for myself. I joined Imagekind exactly one year ago and not once did I ever get around to purchasing one of my maps at it’s largest size and on the most expensive media. It’s not like I didn’t want to, but I just wasn’t sure which one to purchase. I have a $2,500 check arriving shortly from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and I intend on purchasing quite a few more! Very excited.
One disappointment was how the canvas hangs using Poster Hangers. I hung it vertically and the sides of the canvas bend inward. I knew this was going to happen somewhat, but I was expecting so much bend– like a full two inches curving inward. Another interesting observation is how the texture of the canvas adds to the quilted nature of the projection technique. When it comes to quality and longevity of media, I think I’m going to do most of my future printing on canvas. It costs more, but I think it’s worth it.
Also arriving last week was Imagekind’s Sample Media Kit, which contains samples of all of the company’s media that my maps are printed on. It costs $15, but you get $15 off your next purchase, so it’s kind of worth it. My evaluation of the kit was rather simple: does it reflect too much light or does the paper/canvas tear? The winner, and what I printed Federal Triangle Quilt #4 and Israel / Palestine 1993 on, was the Epson Piezo Pro Matte Canvas.
View the Google Map of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
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2/2/2008 || 4:59 pm
Charlotte Spheres
About a week ago I noticed someone from Charlotte, North Carolina looked at my website multiple times. One time while they were exploring my website the person did a search for “Charlotte” and since I had not made a map of Charlotte yet, they didn’t find anything….
Using the same Lenz Projection elements used in Pentagon Spheres and Dupont Circle Lenz Quilt, I developed this unique map. However, unlike the Pentagon Spheres map, I arranged the height of the spheres in a different pattern and I used a diamond quilt projection for the background.
I am quite pleased with the results. Specifically, I like how the magnification varies perfectly on the left and right-hand side of the map. Below you can see a close up detail of two identical locations that were magnified differently. The magnification process is quite processor intensive which made this map take over 10 hours to render– the longest render time since I purchased my MacBook last year and I didn’t even render it at my standard size.
View the Google Map of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Over 500 Maps in 1000 days...
1/20/2008 || 8:02 pm
Federal Triangle Quilt #3
Using this portion of Federal Triangle Quilt #2, I created this derivative map. Again, I found myself counting up the total number of Freedom Plazas located with in the map. After spending a few minutes, I counted a total of 124 complete maps within my map!
View my previous entry about Federal Triangle.
View the Google Map of Federal Triangle in downtown Washington, DC.
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Polar Coordinates of the Super Dome in New Orleans, Louisiana [hexagon]
12/22/2007 || 2:08 pm
Mount Holyoke Quilt #2
Read more about Mount Holyoke College in my previous entry.
View the Google Map of the South Hadley, Massachusetts
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12/16/2007 || 7:00 pm
Rochester Quilt
So last week I had an awkward run-in with someone I’ve known for about a year, but didn’t know very well. I think I must have had too much to drink the night when we had first chatted because I didn’t recall the conversation and asked the exact same stupid question twice. I asked about another friend of mine from the same city and both times the person said that they didn’t know my friend. I felt rather embarrassed by it all to say the least. Well yesterday I decided to download Rochester, New York, the city they both were from, and it just so happens that while this map was rendering I found the other person I had been asking about. Interesting.
The geography featured in this map is called the Inner Loop of Rochester, New York. The source aerial photography was taken at 1 foot per pixel in April of 2005, but in order to fit the entire downtown area into a managable tessellation I reduced the spatial resolution by one half to 2 ft per pixel or 4X less spatial information. I really like the tonal variation of the Genesee River, it reminds me of the rivers in the Pittsburgh Quilts.
View the Google Map of the Rochester, New York
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: Who is still getting screwed?
11/7/2007 || 11:15 am
Mount Vernon Quilt #6
Using this portion of Mount Vernon Quilt #5, I created a derivative tessellation to create this fractal map.
This series of maps is one of my more unique endeavors. From #2 onwards, each was a created from a tessellated portion from the previous map. This recursive tessellation process created a more crystalline map with more lines of symmetry. The projection process was octagon, diamond, dodecagon, hexagon, octagon, and finally, a diamond.
The most important of all the maps was actually the first. From this map I was able to obtain my intended focal point of the mapping process, the Washington Monument of Baltimore. By tessellating that portion, I began the process of narrowing the scope of each subsequent tessellation to the area around the monument. What became clearly evident is the blue rooftop of the Peabody Institute and the unique geometry of the park. The hardest step in the tessellation process became finding the spot on the map that had the most monuments in it. The next time I do a series like this I am going have a set spot on the map that I will tessellate, as opposed to the current method which is a bit more random.
View the Google Map of the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Indianapolis Quilt
10/29/2007 || 10:39 am
Mount Vernon Quilt #2
Using this portion of Mount Vernon Quilt, I created a derivative tessellation to create this fractal map. Up next I have another map of Mount Vernon based off of a second dervative tessellation created from this map.
View the Google Map of the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland
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9/24/2007 || 8:27 pm
Pentagon Quilt #4
View the Google Map of the Pentagon
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: A Partial Setup - Still Looks Like Rain...., Rain & Remorse
9/4/2007 || 5:39 pm
10 & 710 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-10 & I-110 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Central Park Quilt - North
8/30/2007 || 9:07 am
5 & 605 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of 5 & 605 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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8/29/2007 || 9:11 am
60 & 710 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of 60 & 710 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || ||
8/28/2007 || 9:29 am
105 & 605 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of 105 & 605 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || ||
8/27/2007 || 12:26 pm
91 & 605 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of 91 & 605 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: University of South Florida Quilt with Clouds
8/26/2007 || 12:38 pm
91 & 710 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-91 & I-710 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: University of South Florida Quilt
8/24/2007 || 8:36 pm
91 & 110 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-91 & I-110 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || ||
8/23/2007 || 9:34 am
110 & 405 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-110 & I-405 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: An Interchange in Omaha
8/21/2007 || 1:21 pm
710 & 105 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-710 & I-105 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: 8 Wards on the Wall
8/19/2007 || 1:07 pm
105 & 110 Quilt
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-105 & I-110 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: Video Player, Animation Player
8/18/2007 || 9:15 am
101 & 110 Quilt
The 101 & 110 interchange is popularly known as the Four Level Interchange and officially known as the Bill Keene Memorial Interchange, named after the KNXT traffic / weather reporter.
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-101 & I-110 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Portsmouth Quilt #3
8/17/2007 || 1:32 pm
5, 10, 60, & 101 Quilt
Yesterday’s 5 & 10 Quilt is the northern part of the East Los Angeles Interchange complex and this map is the southern half. I had quite a bit a of trouble trying to properly name this map because I couldn’t really figure out which interchange was which! So instead of selectively naming only a couple of the highways, I decided to name this map using ALL of the highways.
According to the Wikipedia entry:
* Interstate 5 enters the complex from the south as the Santa Ana Freeway, but exits to the north as the Golden State Freeway. The Santa Ana Freeway continues west as U.S. 101 to the Four Level Interchange (Bill Keene Memorial Interchange) in downtown Los Angeles.* Interstate 10 is not contiguous through the interchange. Heading west into the complex on the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10), the primary road (or trunk) heads to U.S. 101. In order to follow the I-10 alignment, one must exit the trunk road and follow a connector that merges with the alignment of southbound I-5, then exit that trunk and follow another connector to the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10); note also the change in the freeway’s name.
* Heading west into the complex on the Pomona Freeway (CA/SR-60), the primary road (or trunk) heads into the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10).
Up next will be the Four Level Interchange.
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of 5, 10, 60, & 101 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Render A Comment || ||
8/16/2007 || 3:13 pm
5 & 10 Quilt
This interchange is apart of the East Los Angeles Interchange complex, which is one of the busiest freeway interchanges in the world. I am going to make a few more maps of this interchange in the coming days.
Click here to read more about the series “Los Angeles Interchanges”
View the Google Map of the intersection of I-5 & I-10 in Los Angeles.
View the Google Map of the Los Angeles Interchanges Series
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Comments Off || || Posted One Year Ago: Portsmouth Quilt #2
8/8/2007 || 12:16 pm
Des Moines Quilt
Finally I have a map for Iowa! The only states left to map are Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey….
Since the source imagery was .4 ft per pixel, which is extremely high resolution, I was able to only use the area around the capitol dome. This means there are only a couple of features of the area’s geography that come through.
View the Google Map of Des Moines, Iowa.
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Render A Comment || || Posted One Year Ago: Bismarck Quilt
8/4/2007 || 10:32 am
I-35W Bridge Quilt #2
View the Google Map of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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