FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 9, 2024
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New Scottsdale Arts exhibition explores visual stories with maps
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Public Art’s newest exhibition, “Maps —Contours of a Story,” running Jan. 9 through March 27, 2025, at Scottsdale Civic Center Library, is a juried exhibition of artist maps that illustrate moments, ideas and stories.
The concept for this exhibition originated when Wendy Raisanen, curator of collections and exhibitions for Scottsdale Public Art, a department of the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts, participated in a fiber art class with co-curator and Phoenix-based fiber artist Saskia Jordá. During the class, one of the assignments involved creating a personal map.
“The exhibition grew around the many interpretations of a map,” Jordá said. “Wendy and I were astounded by how each of the artists responded differently to the call, bringing a fresh energy to maps, this form of knowledge we often take for granted. The artists we chose stretch the boundaries of cartography by using line, color, symbols and patterns to dissect — and expand — the idea of a map.”
One of these artworks is a cast aluminum sculpture by Mary Bates Neubauer. This sculpture maps numerical data in three dimensions. To realize these 3D models, custom coding was utilized, resulting in sculptural forms that look like landscapes but are not. They map numbers through time, presenting a nuanced picture of a “moment” in geological time.
Alongside Neubauer’s sculpture, this exhibition features artwork of many mediums, including felted wool, acrylic paint, woven textiles, marble tile, handmade paper and digital prints. Among these is “Radius IV,” a multimedia piece by Jordá.
“I’ve always had a fascination with maps and the language of mapping, but I’m also more interested in how maps can be abstractions or interpretations of memories, places and events in a person’s life,” Jordá said. “Visitors to the exhibition will be able to view these abstractions through their own lenses, possibly taking away new terrains with them.”
“Radius IV” is part of the “Disputed Territories” series. These artworks explore “place identity” through hatched, colored lines and questions the ways in which we divide, use and share land, including how our borders (or lack thereof) determine our interactions with the land we inhabit.
“I hope that people can sort of expand their conception of what a map is and can do,” Raisanen said. “A map can illustrate a story, and that story can be how a person migrated from Cuba to America or the feeling that they got while they were considering a next life step. A map can be a dotted line from A to B, but it also can be an ethereal concept or a leap of faith from one place to another.”
“Maps—Contours of a Story” will run from Jan. 9 through March 27 at the Civic Center Public Gallery, located inside Scottsdale Civic Center Library, 3948 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251. In addition to the exhibition itself, there will be an opening reception to meet the artists from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2024, at the Civic Center Public Gallery.
Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation has also organized two creative workshops in association with this exhibition. On Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 10:30 a.m., guests can join Jordá to imagine and build a fictional place by tracing, cutting and layering paper, maps and recycled materials. And on Thursday, March 13, at 10:30 a.m., artist Jen Urso will lead attendees in creating customized maps, using various drawing materials that detail their real and imagined favorite places, daily journeys and life histories. Both workshops are free, but RSVP is required. They will be presented at Scottsdale Civic Center Library.
Learn more about the exhibition at ScottsdalePublicArt.org/exhibitions and get details on the workshops and reception at ScottsdalePublicArt.org/events.