Pattern Map #2 (Square) -EJamieson 2006
Mapping is about layers, about taking things beneath the surface and making them visible. Of course this includes things like rocks, foundations, and riverbeds, but at the most basic its about elevation and incline. Sounds pretty literal, pretty geographic, pretty simple, but really elevation and incline are just about as wishy-washy as you can get. Elevation from where? Incline compared to what? Sure elevation from a zero point, sure incline measured in degrees... but not really. Even the Oxford English Dictionary supports the cartographic reading as the second most relevant interpretation of each word, with the more person-based reading taking centre stage.
Elevation
Pronunciation:/ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃ(ə)n/
1][mass noun] the action or fact of raising or being raised to a higher or more important level, state , or position
2][mass noun] height above a given level, especially sea level.
Incline
Pronunciation:/ɪnˈklʌɪn/
1][verb](usually be inclined to/towards/to do something) be favourably disposed towards or willing to do something
2][noun]an inclined surface or plane; a slope, especially on a road or railway.
On a personal level the elevations and inclines shown on a map tell us about the cartographer's relationship to the world, how he or she measures degrees away from him or herself. Every layer, every line drawn covers everything beneath it and leaves behind only a small fraction of what really exists. So what we choose to leave showing is tantamount to what we choose to see.
The map becomes about choices, mapping becomes about choices. About what we show and what we hide. About what we see and what we don't. About our vision of the world, the town, the house, the person... About choices we make in what we put forth and what we leave behind.
Always, never not, always about choices.
