The Chicago Public Media program, This American Life, was extremely engaging. Within the first 5 minutes I already learned something I never knew about. Maps aren't necessarily just visual representations of the world, but it can be a documentation of the places, things, etc. that you encounter. It was fascinating enough to listen to the people that mapped by visual drawings, but even more so from the people who mapped based on the other senses. I would love to incorporate this into a project, especially using the challenge that photography is a visual medium.
I came across this video and it is so perfect for this. Stephen Wiltshire draws Rome completely from memory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVqRT_kCOLI
The idea of using your own body as a map is very intriguing. I remember being a child and trying to count every freckle that ever happened to appear on my body. The body can be a very powerful landscape in photography yes, but not to the obsessive point where some of these people take it. Deb Monroe mapped through sense of touch. She compulsively checked for lumps in her breasts. When first hearing this, I would think she suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, or something similar.
After hearing "Mapping", I understand her thought process. I do kind of think she is a hypochondriac (because on stressful days she says she checks for lumps up to 5 times) , but also interested in mapping her body day by day and recording changes. She says that when you start mapping your own body, it seems inaccurate. You might start to see things that don't exist, or things that do suddenly become bigger. This might be body dysmorphic disorder (which i also think she suffers from) or just the fact that you have lived with your body your entire life, and mapping makes you take a closer look and not oversee things you might have before.
Jonathan Gold mapped his life through taste. He decided to go to every restaurant on Pico Blvd. where he lives. He had a set of rules, he had to try every place, in order. He started mapping the street through food. I definitely think that we all do this. Maybe not in the same manner than Jonathan did, but we definitely create assumptions about a restaurant based on what we ate. I recently decided that I would stop writing off restaurants just because I had one bad meal. It doesn't mean the place has nothing else to offer.
After hearing "Mapping", I understand her thought process. I do kind of think she is a hypochondriac (because on stressful days she says she checks for lumps up to 5 times) , but also interested in mapping her body day by day and recording changes. She says that when you start mapping your own body, it seems inaccurate. You might start to see things that don't exist, or things that do suddenly become bigger. This might be body dysmorphic disorder (which i also think she suffers from) or just the fact that you have lived with your body your entire life, and mapping makes you take a closer look and not oversee things you might have before.
Jonathan Gold mapped his life through taste. He decided to go to every restaurant on Pico Blvd. where he lives. He had a set of rules, he had to try every place, in order. He started mapping the street through food. I definitely think that we all do this. Maybe not in the same manner than Jonathan did, but we definitely create assumptions about a restaurant based on what we ate. I recently decided that I would stop writing off restaurants just because I had one bad meal. It doesn't mean the place has nothing else to offer.
it is an ok posting, but you were definitely on a roll with the touch sense, and you could elaborate more than giving her diseases, LOL. Delve further, develop your ideas rather than throwing out statements. Even if she has a disorder, does that negate her mapping/touching? Could she be sensing things through touch that are not there because of her disorder? THink it through, and make an argument.
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