Chapter 12 Art, maps and cybercartography: Stimulating reflexivity among map-users

Abstract In this chapter the case is made for encouraging reflexivity by making map-users aware that any map is a “construction of the image of space” and is thus inherently subjective. Informing map-users of the constructed dimension of maps is particularly vital given the exponential production of maps via the Internet. This growth expands the presence of potentially dogmatic and misleading messages. To address these issues, the interrelation between aesthetics, science and technology, and its impact on the perception of maps by most users is discussed. On the one hand cartographers have widely used the aesthetic dimension of art to increase the impression of objectivity associated with maps and on the other hand, developments in the humanities provide grounds to challenge this concept of map objectivity. In this context the potential of cybercartography to combine multiple media, art, technologies, and perspectives into maps is highlighted. This chapter concludes by arguing for stronger presence of artistic creativity and social criticism in maps on the Internet to stimulate map reflexivity.

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