Arty Things for My Office Wall, on Certain Themes

November 3, 2022 11:17 PM

I’d like to get one or more things to put with some other things on one wall of my home office. I would like these things to be tied to one or, even better, more of the following themes.

The themes are:
* Civics / Government / Politics / Progressivism
* Data
* Geography
* Journalism, especially newspapers
* Language, especially English (maybe poetry?)

These themes are all related to my careers.

So far, the leading contender is the “Dewey Defeats Truman” photo.

I might get it on metal. Would that make it more arty?

Here are some other contenders:
* John Snow's cholera map
* Minard's Napoleon flow map
Something by William Playfair
* Reproduction of an ancient map, such as this
* The "Goofy Kicking Donald Duck" redistricting map (possibly this could be more arty on wood or metal or some other way, or not)

Do you have any other suggestions?

posted by NotLost to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

This 1823 Map of the soundings and fortications of Valetta Harbour, Malta is romantic and data rich.
Or a finite archipelago map such as The Galapagos with data: heights, depths and English and Spanish names for the islands.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:21 AM on November 4, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: the “Dewey Defeats Truman” photo.

I was eager to see what a type of competition an American politician and a librarian could engage in that would demand headlines and defy chronological time...

OK, I'm Australian. But I like the kind of things you like. I'd consider putting together a shadow box, line it with a map, then attach objects that you have chosen to represent your interests. Along the same lines, buy some cheap frames and print copyright-free images from the web. You become the artist of your wall and your memories and curiosity your muse.
posted by Thella at 1:25 AM on November 4, 2022 [2 favorites]

Everybody loves Harold Fisk’s meander maps of the Mississippi river (for good reason).

I personally don't think "get[ting] it on metal" is necessarily more arty—you want to draw atttention to the beauty and/or interesting aspects of the piece, not the odd way it's mounted. A clean and professional picture frame can be bought off the net for cheap, or you can go fancy with a bespoke frame job from a framing shop. The advantage of the latter, among other things, will be the choice of different frame materials and colours (to suit the piece and your office colour scheme) and excellent advice on how to make whatever you choose look amazing. Have fun!
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 2:54 AM on November 4, 2022 [5 favorites]

Instead of hanging it on metal, you could do what I did at my work-work office - get some really big bulldog clips, like this, tack a couple to the wall, and use them to hold just the plain paper with the print on it. It's easier, it's cheaper, you can change the thing you're hanging whenever you want, and it has a sort of "old-school-workplace-doing-things-on-the-fly" vibe.

That idea even came from a genuine art director (the guy at work who suggested that when I was figuring out how to hang a map myself) and was complimented by my boss (a guy who used to design art gallery installations).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:52 AM on November 4, 2022 [2 favorites]

For your first bullet point, I have bought a few things from Just Seeds, an artists collaborative. They produce a lot of prints and other art with radical political themes, including social and environmental justice. Proceeds benefit both the artists and (usually) a related cause.
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 4:50 AM on November 4, 2022 [3 favorites]

I find Harold Fisk's Mississippi River maps both beautiful & fascinating.
posted by ourobouros at 5:15 AM on November 4, 2022 [2 favorites]

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but I recommend perusing the Public Domain Review, unless you had something else to do today. It mostly links to high-res images at archive.org, which you can have printed on a large-format printer. This is exactly what my wife did for her office. There's a wealth of interesting stuff there, including old maps and information visualizations.
posted by adamrice at 8:28 AM on November 4, 2022 [4 favorites]

Shakespearean insults chart?
posted by tan_coul at 10:20 AM on November 4, 2022 [2 favorites]

The Gall-Peters Projection world map! Great explanation on The West Wing. And mount it upside down to reverse our "top-is-best" bias. Mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:41 PM on November 4, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a couple prints from Tabitha Arnold's etsy shop, which may definitely progressive and may hit some of your other themes.

I'd love someday to have something by Miriam Singer, they aren't maps but are like maps in some ways.

The Noli map of Rome is a classic.
posted by sepviva at 5:20 PM on November 4, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the great ideas! I am leaning toward doing a shadowbox, if I can think of what to put in it.

A couple other ideas I am considering:
* Something with a specific quote from Dylan Thomas-- "I am in love with the shape and sound of words."
* Something with a few lines from Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb".
posted by NotLost at 8:50 PM on November 4, 2022 [1 favorite]