Star Values (5th variation) | 2014
calligraphy ink on silkscreen print
22 1/4” x 20 1/4” each
Star Values is a series of hand coloured prints derived from six maps from the 1890's. The original maps, taken from an astrology atlas, depict all the stars and constellations as seen from earth and include arcing grids of latitude and longitude lines.
By interpreting these latitude and longitude lines to be “property boundaries”, a value system is then applied to the prints. Each set of prints has a unique colouring system as the information the maps provide is interpreted in various ways. The choice of colours is akin to most modern real estate maps in which warm colours like red, then orange and yellow denote a higher importance or value than cooler colours like green, blue or violet. This same hierarchy of colours was established by Sir Isaac Newton in reference to rainbows. While the black lines of each map are printed as silk screens, the various colours are applied by hand to each map in the tradition of early map making.
With five unique versions of the prints available, the series parallels the writers of history in which the same set of facts can be interpreted in a variety of ways to suit our own goals. Our desire to conquer and own what we do not fully understand yet is depicted through the clear disregard of the infinite depth of field in each lot, like a futuristic reconsideration of the earth when it was assumed to be flat.
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