My snail fallacy posts can get a bit abstract, so it's nice to have a project that brings me down to earth a bit, or, in the perspective of this drawing, to a hover slightly above earth.
Nearly all my work for Buffalo Exchange is referential, and this piece references a famous cover of the New Yorker, depicting New York, specifically, 9th and 10th Ave.s, as the center of the universe.
I felt well qualified to complete this illustration, as 13th Ave. sits a block south of my universe. My studio, Nesbeth, lives on 14th. I frequent its several establishments, some of which are labled here: Buffalo Exchange Denver of course, that purveyor of locally-designed and recycled clothing, and City O City Cafe, with its velvet upholstery and baked goods. The Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art (lower right) houses many classic mid-century works of art and design, and once housed the late Vance Kirkland, father of the Dot technique. Museum highlight: Kirkland suspended himself from the ceiling using a series of straps (apparatus still in place, on exhibit!) so that he could drop perfectly round circles of paint onto his canvases. These small businesses hang together by more than their mortar, so advertising for one of them often means advertising for several.
The gray building in the background resembling a crushed can is the Denver Art Museum, or its Hamilton wing, designed by Daniel Libeskind to match the jutting geological formations that surround Denver. The north wing of the Art Museum resembles a villain's castle from the outside, and is hidden behind the rather large Denver Public Library, which looks like several buildings cobbled together. The large blue bear facing west is Lawrence Argent's sculpture, I See What You Mean, which peers into the Denver Convention Center. I sweat every fond detail that sits outside my vantage -- Kilgore Books, the Molly Brown House Museum, Wax Trax records, and much more. But these may require another map, though no doubt, a similarly biased one.
The gray building in the background resembling a crushed can is the Denver Art Museum, or its Hamilton wing, designed by Daniel Libeskind to match the jutting geological formations that surround Denver. The north wing of the Art Museum resembles a villain's castle from the outside, and is hidden behind the rather large Denver Public Library, which looks like several buildings cobbled together. The large blue bear facing west is Lawrence Argent's sculpture, I See What You Mean, which peers into the Denver Convention Center. I sweat every fond detail that sits outside my vantage -- Kilgore Books, the Molly Brown House Museum, Wax Trax records, and much more. But these may require another map, though no doubt, a similarly biased one.
As I drew this illustration, I read Michael Chabon's collection of essays, Maps and Legends. The essays navigate landmarks of literary culture -- Sherlock Holmes, The Dark Materials trilogy, Norse mythology, comics popular and obscure -- as well as his Chabon's own experience. If you enjoy pop culture and literary nonfiction, I'd recommend reading the book while sketching a biased version of your own stomping grounds. Walking the dog will never look quite the same afterward.
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