If You Had the World’s Biggest Canvas, Would You Draw Your Own Hideous Face?
There are usually only seven or eight people in the world who hear about things after I do, and three of them are in jail. It follows, then, that you have probably already heard about this man who drew a self portrait on the earth by sending a GPS device on a world tour using DHL. You probably already have the contour drawing of this man’s head on a coffee mug. It’s one of those mugs where you don’t see the contour drawing until you fill it with a hot beverage, right? And you heard about it so long ago that it’s already lame, so the mug is hidden in the back of your cupboard, or on freecycle.
In any case, this idea of drawing in time using only data is pretty invigorating. I’m having a hard time thinking of an aesthetic medium that leaves less of a footprint. This drawing requires a whole host of complex technologies just to make itself known. It basically lives in a gargantuan iron lung. I’m guessing this may be the point.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Amazing! I am pretty impressed by the coordination of latitude and longitude… and the idea of drawing in time. I wonder how else we could do it… time lapse photography? solar imaging? stefan sagmeister newsprint billboards (which is the opposite, erasing in time)?
June 9th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I just read that this is a hoax? Is it true?
If so, the artist deserves a pat on the back for the idea, but a serious spanking for application. If he had just gone to any of the major global carriers, I think they would have seen the potential for a great story. Who is the agency of record for UPS? I do hope they have their heads all over this thing.