Elyssa Kohlhagen

Jasper Johns Map1961Oil on Canvas6' 6" x 10' 3 1/8"

What first drew me to the map were the bold colors. I am always drawn to colorful things, so this work got my attention. I really like the style in which Jasper Johns painted following the idea of coloring outside the lines. I don’t know how he managed to be so abstract yet the piece still reads as a United States map. Upon research I found that Johns likes to work with recognizable images. His goal in his artwork is to make the viewer stop and look at something ordinary that is usually overlooked. I think that it was brilliant how he took the liberty of abandoning cartography conventions when making his version of the map. I think that he was successful in making the viewer really look and appreciate something so ordinary. When viewing the map, I wonder what Johns’ process was in making it, if he drew out the states perfectly and then painted outside of the lines or if he started with rougher shapes. I like that this piece shows process and multiple layers of color are visible. The colors remind me of the colors used on a map plotting heat, which is funny because most of the colors these states are painted do not correspond to the state’s actual climate. I really appreciate how Johns was able to take something so ordinary and make it into artwork.

Elyssa Kohlhagen

Roadside AmericaShartlesville, PAFounded in 1930s by Laurence Gieringer

This image is a photo taken at Roadside America in Pennsylvania. Roadside America is an indoor miniature village of the whole United States. It was founded by Laurence Gieringer because of his lifelong love of making miniature models. It is so cool because the whole country is mapped out three dimensionally. It is 8,000 square feet total and includes all major landmarks. It is a really neat way to see all of the highlights of our country at once. In addition, it is updated periodically, so that the sights are up to date. The model is completely electric with the lights in the buildings lighting up and trains moving around. It is such a cool way to depict our country and brings out the beauty in each and every place.