Cartography is a compelling study that works strives to analyze various aspects of a geographical regions and their characteristics, and Samuel Granados' Migration Maps take the analysis to a playful level.
The artist's Mexico Emigrants and American Cartogram collect that data from the Development Research Center on Migration, Globalization and Poverty, and turn it into toy blocks to create 3D artworks.
Where every single piece of LEGO represents 10,000 immigrants, the Samuel Granados' Migration Maps reveal an undulating and often jagged analytical topography across North America. Color-coded within each region, the overall appearance of such systematic creations appears to be more artistic than your run-of-the-mill map.
Allowing the viewer to extract his own conclusions about population displacement, these plaything demographic projections carry an unexpected breadth of information within such trivial trinket arrangements.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Migration Maps
- Using toy blocks to represent immigration data, there is an opportunity to create interactive and visually appealing migration maps for educational purposes.
- Playful Cartography
- Combining cartography with toys opens up opportunities for engaging and interactive ways to analyze geographical data.
- Data Visualization
- Transforming complex data into visually appealing and accessible forms through methods like LEGO cartography creates opportunities for effective data visualization.
Where This Applies
- Education
- Using migration maps as educational tools can provide students with a fun and engaging way to learn about population dynamics and geography.
- Art and Design
- Artists and designers can explore the creative potential of combining cartography and toy blocks as mediums for expressing social and demographic information.
- Data Analysis and Visualization
- Businesses and research institutions can utilize innovative data visualization techniques like LEGO cartography to analyze and present complex information in a more accessible manner.
