Legal Research

The Friday Fillip

By Simon Fodden

The New York Times is the source of a great many wonderful things — as befits a newspaper that has been the doyenne of the American print press for generations. And, thankfully, not all of these wonderful things are serious or even news-related. As a signal example of this, I present Abstract City, a blog of illustrations by Christoph Niemann. Here, of course, words fail, but copyright reigns; in such a circumstance, perhaps, Wittgenstein would advise: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.” But what did he know?

Having already pointed you in the right direction, I want as well to show you a bit of what’s in store. Niemann’s current “post” has to do with maps — but his version of maps as they might be used to diagram notions. Thus:

Twenty-one further delights follow, including a witty map of a “New Brunswick.”

If this sort of gentle gestural satire appeals, as well it might after a wordy week at work, you’ll find dozens more examples of Niemann’s work in earlier posts, all using illustration in surprising ways.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on March 19, 2010 (boomark / email).