Alexander Cheek

Population = Dunkin' Donuts

If social policy is created based on this data, I can not be held responsible for the potential collapse of one of the oldest settlements in the Western World. These maps show broad trends and correlations over 70,000 square miles. They are based on 2004 data, reflecting society at the time. There is a Dunkin’ Donuts on every street corner in populated New England, but we are reminded of New England’s rich heritage with the covered bridges scattered throughout rustic Vermont and countrified Connecticut. The roads and highways that are regularly seen on maps only tell us how to reach a destination. In other cases maps might show points of interest, the weather on a given day, the homes of Hollywood stars, bus routes or air traffic control patterns. Ira Glass once said, "maps have meaning because they filter out all the chaos in the world, and focus obsessively on one item." But what happens when you take all that information and pile it back on top of each other again? When you introduce all the chaos, and strip the maps of the most expected things like highways, the highways and towns and cities reappear all by themselves.

Every map is the world seen through a different lens.

Zoom

This silk-screened 9x12 atlas is post-bound. Viewers can choose which data they wish to compare by inserting acetate sheets over the base map of New England. BMW dealers and country clubs show the affluent suburbs; violent crime statistics and porn shops show the marginal parts of town; Dunkin’ Donuts show all population centers as well as roads and highways; and lastly, by stacking all the data and removing the map underneath, a clear view of New England appears.

Little League Fields/BMW Dealerships/Country Clubs