Maps inspire student art


Spencer Pearce
“At the Opera”

A new exhibit of student art inspired by a visit to the library’s map collection will be on display at Olin Library through February.

The exhibit, “Obscuring the Line: Charting Liminal Spaces,” was created by students in the ART 2501 class, “Drawing: Contemporary Art Practice through Drawing,” taught by visiting critic Alva Mooses. The artwork resulted from an assignment given by Mooses, and was inspired by visits to the Cornell University Library Map Collection and the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.

“Maps are often seen as authoritative, but these thought-provoking works challenge that perception,” said Boris Michev, map and geospatial information librarian, who curated the exhibit. “They give us a new opportunity for re-examining our ideas about the world.”

The drawings can be seen on the lower level of Olin Library.

- Melanie Lefkowitz