Jenny Odell: Peripheral Landscapes

Maps are known for providing information, but in their decorative elements they also convey our shifting ideas of exploration. Digital artist Jenny Odell captures this notion in three collages titled, Peripheral Landscapes, now on display in the Lionel Pincus & Princess Firyal Map Division and made possible through collaboration between the NYPL Labs, the Map Division, and Electric Objects, maker of the EO1, an innovative new technology for displaying digital art. The collaboration produced the Library’s very first call for a Net Artist in Residence in 2014. By combing through thousands of maps, and digitally cutting, collecting, and repurposing their mythical figures and natural wonders, Jenny Odell elevates the often overlooked visual art of maps while demonstrating how new technologies can create new perspectives about our historic resources.