So Much More Than Just a Map Perspectives on Louisiana and the New World
Maps serve many more purposes besides showing us how to get from one point to another. They are at once artistic, scientific, and technological creations with more than one level of meaning. Maps are pictures of the world reflecting a people's cultural beliefs and perceptions and document the social, political, and economic times in which they are produced.
Maps are not neutral instruments. Beyond providing topographical information, they represent attempts to claim and control land and inhabitants. Instruments of persuasion, maps speak to us about places, people, events, their makers, and their makers' motives.
This exhibit is made possible through support from The Lupin Foundation.