So have representations of the world specifically maps. The collapse of the Soviet Union has made all maps and globes showing political boundaries out of date, with no clear indication of when a new order would emerge to make stable, accurate mapmaking once again possible. In the former Yugoslavia, in Tibet, and in the Middle East, maps are the subject not just of academic controversy but of actual conflict boundary lines and labels are literally matters of life and death. Maps and Art, addressing the complex relationship between the world, maps, and art. Often considered scientific documents, maps are also aesthetic objects, shaped by any number of formal choices.
Maps are supposedly objective, yet they incorporate cultural values and political beliefs.
The sixteenth-century Mercator projection, for example, places Europe at the center of the visual field and makes it disproportionally large in relation to Africa. Different world views produce different views of the world. Many modern artists, working in a wide range of media, have become fascinated by the formal richness and social significance of maps and have responded by making works of art that build upon map imagery and map-making strategies. Maps offer artists a vehicle for examining cultural issues ranging from personal identity to international politics, provide a connection from art to science, and suggest an intricate system of representation combining verbal, visual, and symbolic elements. Maps and Art for the first time presents historical and modern-day maps, contemporary art utilizing map forms and strategies, and commissioned art installations.