The Drawing, To Draw

The Drawing, To Draw

Maps have to be drawn and there are several reasons why (the) drawing is important for cartopology. The two most valuable in the context of this project are the following. 

First, by means of a visual language, cartopology provides a common ground by creating drawings that can be ‘read’ and appropriated by both scientists and non-scientists, related to different disciplines. It welcomes, collects and classifies material based on its geographical importance without taking in account established borders between disciplines and fields. 

A second reason why drawing as a visual language is precious to cartopology is because it enforces strictness while observing and looking. The more you observe, the more you know what to draw, the more you dive into the world you are observing, the more you can connect with that world. Collecting observations through drawing creates that necessary intimacy. Being at the drawing table and mapping the location’s narrative, the cartopologist turns to abstraction, dealing with proportions, scale and orientation. The relation with the location changes from being part of it towards looking at it from a distance. The dialogue between the observation on site and the notation at the drawing table, or between the local intimacy and the abstraction of a drawing is where the understanding and visualizing of the (often hidden) narrative of a location happens. Drawing is not simply documenting what we see, it is a craft through which we learn to see.1Hugh Raffles, Insectopedia, 38-64.

[1] Hugh Raffles, Insectopedia, 38-64.