“CityLab”, The Atlantic
Artist Emily Garfield maps places that don’t exist. “I think that’s related to the way cities grow in real life.” (View full web article)
Artist of the Month, Somerville Arts Council
“I make abstract, often intricate drawings that are inspired by how people self-organize into things like networks and cities. In a way they’re maps, but they’re maps of places I make up as I draw.” (View full web post)
Boston Globe Blog
“Emily Garfield started creating geographic mappings of urban landscapes for a senior show at Brown University, where she received her B.A. in 2009. Her highly structured maps depict aerial views of cityscapes and landscapes. “I start with an ink wash and move the page to roll the ink around and see where it will settle and build a civilization,” Garfield said. “I try to imagine places I’ve never been before.” – Tamar Zmora, Boston Globe blog, September 2011 (Web article)
Philadelphia Inquirer
“The standouts by artists include… a piece by the Massachusetts artist Emily Garfield, who begins her fictional maps by dripping a pool of ink or paint on paper to suggest a body of water, and then draws a city around its perimeter” – Edith Newhall, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2010 (PDF; Web article)
Whitehot Magazine
“In Emily Garfield’s wall installation, paper pop-ups of big city buildings emerge three-dimensionally…these buildings almost become like characters … the buildings are symbolic, making people rather virtual.” – Kofi Forson, Whitehot Magazine, November 2010 (PDF)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“A saving grace of this exhibit is that the itch to paw at the art is slaked, in part, by videos that play in the gallery space and resemble Terry Gilliam’s animations for Monty Python, which also featured a memorable, clunky style and Victorian cutouts. The videos bring Kusumoto’s troupes to wonderful, cinematic life.” – Mary Louise Schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 2010 (Link; Watch animations)
Somerville Journal
“With pen and ink, Garfield creates maps of imaginary cities… The maps take you on a specific journey through the places [she’s] invented” – Ashley Troutman, Somerville Journal, April 2010 (PDF)
Other notable blog mentions:
Interview: Here360
Interview: Palette Project
Interview: Babel/Salvage
Interview: RAW Artists (YouTube video)
Article: UrbDeZine Boston
Interview: Bazaar Bizarre
Mention: Map of the Week
Interview: Design Annex