Lost

A recent Herald article reports the curious case of islands disappearing with significant political implications, a tale that Cleo Paskal also tells in her new book, Global Warming: How Environmental, Economic, and Political Crises Will Redraw the World Map.

Exhibit A is Bermeja, supposed to be HERE but mysteriously missing since 1997, potentially affecting where Mexico can set its 200 nautical-mile economic zone from.

Exhibit B is New Moore Island, or South Talpatti to those in Bangladesh, who claim it belongs to them and not to India. (If you do a search for New Moore Island on Google Maps, you get no results but a suggestion that you're looking for "New Moore Island, Bangladesh", seemingly indicating Google's political preference.) It is still marked on the map HERE, where a blue smudgey area suggests that it has been airbrushed out, although this may also be from the added resolution in this spot due to the attention it has received.

Although Bermeja and New Moore are unoccupied and purely of geo-political interest, they set interesting precedents for other island nations, including TUVALU, KIRIBATI and the MALDIVES, whose occupants may need to be resettled if their homes also disappear.

Image: An 1846 map showing the Mexican island of Bermeja

Secret smile

Here's another one from a reader: Flying over Taipei, home to well manicured PARKS, GARDENS AND MEMORIALS, interesting INDUSTRIAL and RESIDENTIAL configurations, swimming POOLS, monumental TOWERS, car PARKS, and other things we enjoy, it seems there are a FEW places that need to be HIDDEN from view. (Thanks JR)

Image: The sinister smile of the secret 'clownface' organisation's HQ

Mind the Gap

“[These works] capture western capitalism on the grandest scale; the landscape seen from outer space. The landscape from this perspective is slightly mysterious. Describe circular irrigation to most people and they will immediately recall the kind of crop circles depicted in extraterrestrial movies and conspiracy theories. There is usually a ready explanation to this kind of enigma: in the instance of circular irrigation it is purely the pattern created by irrigation sprinklers which enables these abstract and slightly haphazardly constructed landscapes.

“[Adrian] Jackman has worked from public domain satellite imagery in Google Maps. The quality and amount of visual information available varies considerably in this popular web application, enticing the imagination to postulate on unseen spaces. This is of course a technical constraint of the photograph but one that does not exist in painting. For the painter, this lack of visual information represents an opportunity: to capture the available information and successfully fill in the gaps.

“Gaps have at one time or another invoked imaginative responses in us all. Whether it be cracks in the pavement or the narrow spaces between domestic decking floorboards. In this new series Jackman has witnessed gaps in the landscape, constructing a collection of intriging new compositions that are certain to strike an imaginative chord with his audience.”

Matt Blomely on Adrian Jackman's exhibition Mind the Gap at Lopdell House.

Image: Adrian Jackman, The Agrarians, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 1220 x 1524mm

Here we give thanks...

The vast icy terrain of Greenland appears to be google's biggest blindspot and is punctuated with curious artefacts where indistinguishable bits of map have presumably been stitched together. This glimpse of MARTIAN landscape is certainly intriguing but, at 40km in length, it is this metaphysical GATE that is most striking. But should we attribute it to McCahon, Mondrian or Malevich? Kubrick? (Thanks AS)

Finding Nemo

If any regular readers still harbour doubts as to whether secret societies and individuals with enough resources have the power to influence the content on google maps, then THIS LINK is for you. A fantastic digital mosaic I've just chanced upon in the port of Amsterdam, just opposite Renzo Piano's fabulous ship-shaped NEMO museum. A large part of the abstracted area is occupied by historic ships in the Maritime Museum but presumably there is a particularly sensitive military presence here too?

Serra from space

Once more following the lead of overthenet, currently at large and posting art missives from around the world, I decided to hunt out some Richard Serra works and see how his iconic structures bare up to the harsh truth of the satellite eye. For starters HERE is the work overthenet have just cycled through (cheers for the plug M&J).

Also in Germany, Bramme for the Ruhr District in Essen shows up as little more than an enigmatic SHADOWY WISP in the large clearing it is sited on. It seems this expansive setting photographs well, and this account suggests that the mound is in fact part of the work - note the scale of the work as indicated by the tideline of graffiti.

TORQUE has an impressive traffic-directing placement in the middle of a South German University campus. This one also has a graffiti tideline (see picture above).

Here is EL MUR in Barcelona. Someone asked me earlier this year whether it makes a difference whether I know these sites other than on cyberspace. I suspect it's more interesting and intriguing if I only know them as aerial-digital representations, but I'll report back if I bump into El Mur, or any other alien art, later this month.

TERMINAL in Bochum, Germany, also has been placed to stop traffic. The nice thing about this one is that the aerial view provides an interior.

THIS one is Iron Mountain Run in Connecticut.

Famously, Tilted Arc is long gone, but THIS is where it once stood. And then there is the 38-tonne sculpture that somehow disappeared from a Madrid museum. One of his largest works, Te Tuhirangi Contour, is situated just north of Auckland, but the entire private estate it resides on is MYSTERIOUSLY BLURRY.

It seems Serra translates well to satellite and I could keep going with more examples. But lastly, SEA LEVEL seems perfect for the google traveller. Not only does it reward horizontal scanning, it has an inherent reference that helps the viewer situate it vertically in relationship to its surroundings, something that is usually lost from this angle. I'll let this website do the explaining:

"Sea Level (1996), located on the outskirts of Zeewolde, is situated on either side of a canal. From the adjacent dikes, there emerge two concrete walls which are placed at a diagonal to the canal and in alignment with each other. The viewer mentally connects these two walls with each other, creating an imaginary segment of wall that runs straight across the canal. The top edge of the wall is at sea level; a fascinating interaction arises between the wall, the top edge of the dike and the surface of the water in the canal."

Meanwhile, back on overthenet, they have now noted another monument-al work, which is yet more in the vein of straight-up-as-high-as-you-can-go. The result when given an aerial view, as will eventually be demonstrated HERE, is that there isn''t much action in any other axis .

Blowing in the wind

The Auckland Art Gallery's Outpost blog has just posted some great images of their George Rickey (1907-2002) Double L kinetic sculpture being put into storage for the duration of the gallery's lengthy redevelopment. Outpost also notes a couple of other editions of the same work; one outside the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which has much better AERIAL IMAGERY (pictured) than its AUCKLAND COUNTERPART, which is essentially invisible. And also a third edition at the Pepsico Sculpture Park in New York. Strangely, although the surrounding properties have perfect resolution at the closest magnification, the GROUNDS OF PEPSICO look like they have been photoshopped with one of those watercolour-type filters. Is there a copyright issue with works of art appearing on google maps? Still, based on this record of what is at the park, we do get to play spot-the-mystery-object with all the large, dark blobs.

Sculpture parking

A recent post on overthenet had me wondering about just how impressive sculpture parks might look by satellite. There's a bunch of them around and they're specifically set up for big outdoor work.

Here's Vigeland Park, as recommended by overthenet. An impressive setting but not much to be SEEN FROM ABOVE.

There are two public parks just out of Auckland. Connell's Bay on Waiheke Island; the YELLOW SPECK ON THE RIGHT of the path going north from the bay is probably the Phil Price piece gyrating away. And Brick Bay Sculpture Trail near Matakana, with an impressive piece of land work that can be SEEN FROM A LONG WAY UP. No sign of the pavilion on the lake so the current map must pre-date the official opening of the trail. Not to forget Alan Gibbs' estate on the Kaipara Harbour, which is unfortunately (suspiciously?) OUT OF FOCUS.

The Cass Sculpture Foundation near Goodwood, UK is the model for Brick Bay, but not much that's recognisable to be SEEN FROM ABOVE except the roof of Alex Hartley's Pavilion.

Finally, here's the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. Nice to SEE SOME MODERNIST BOXES out in the desert.

7 Pieces of Pre-modernism

Easter Island

Unfortunately this is the best view currently available on google maps.

Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico

Michael Heizer visitied this ancient Mayan city prior to starting his own "City" project. Again, this is the best view available on google maps. I've heard of government departments and people with privacy issues requesting removal from google maps. I wonder if sites of cultural sensitivity have been given similar treatment as this and Easter Island are conspicuous in their absence, particularly with a dramatic improvement of resolution so close by.

Pyramids, Egypt

That's the Sphinx to the lower right. Not ever having physically been here, I was suprised to see the proximity to an urban environment. Can you imagine having these just up the road from you? Perhaps romantically, I always imagined you'd drive for miles to see these. Of course, these were a part of a civilisation and would have been integrated into a community in some way. Finding these, I'm also struck by how indiscriminate google maps can be. I just plugged 'pyramids' into the search and this is the view I was offered with no further explanation or information, just an image to explore. By zooming out in map-view, one can confirm that this is on the outskirts of Al Qahirah, Egypt, and see exactly where it sits in relation to other borders.

Taj Mahal, India
From this view it is the landscaping rather than the architecture, if they can be separated, that impresses.

Stonehenge, England

Having become accustomed to major landmarks having substantial tourist industries built around them, the first time I drove past this I was surprised to encounter it almost by chance with very little fanfare.

Maungawhau Crater, Auckland, New Zealand

This is primarily a natural landmark but you can also clearly still see traces of the Maori occupation of this site. The natural parabolic qualities of Mt Eden (Maungawhau)'s crater have been exploited in performances by Phil Dadson, but that is another strand of art geography that we will come back to later.

Circular field, Africa

Strongly resembling a crop circle but more likely just a nice, circular piece of mowing. I'm getting a bit off-topic now but the crop circle thing is definitely something we'll return to.