VISUAL BIOGRAPHIES
This map-based work is a “visual biography" of a Chicago couple. Their drawing was inspired by the many years they spent commuting between Milwaukee and Chicago. They still travel back and forth often. Thinking about that drive—going back and forth and back and forth––reminded me of old movies with city crowds and traffic moving to jazzy music. To start the drawing, I collaged together metro area maps of Milwaukee and Chicago (edited considerably to shorten their commute). Then I filled in all the roads, parks, neighborhoods and important sites with jazzy lines and shapes. An orange sunburst appears periodically throughout the drawing identifying important sites for the family. Logically the drawing should be hung verticalIy, but I prefer the horizontal view.
Private Collection, Chicago