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My name is Doug McCune
today we're going to be talking about some maps
but before I get started I want to take a trip back in time
I'll be going over seven different projects
but to start, this is a photo of me when i was about seven or eight years old
I'm holding up a drawing that I had made, this is of Yosemite
hard to see the actual photo, but
we had taken a family trip to Yosemite
and I was drawing
basically everything I saw
When I was a kid
I loved to draw. I was drawing all the time.
I grew up in a very artistic household,
my mother was a painter,
she would do watercolors and so
as I was growing up art was always
in our house
and art was a real passion of mine for a long time, from when I was
a little kid all the way up through high school.
And then when I went off to college
the process of creating art sort of started slipping away from me.
Not really intentionally
it just sort of got displaced
In college I discovered computer programming I had been sort of
dabbling in programming before that but really
realized that this was a passion of mine
and that sort of took its place.
But back when I was a kid
when I was eight years old I was asked in elementary school
to write down where I thought I would be
and what i would be doing when I grew up
and I wrote that I was going to be living in Hawaii
and I was going to be an artist
We all know that the dreams of an eight year old rarely turn into reality, otherwise we'd all know
a whole bunch of astronauts
But I did end up living near a beach
I didn't make it to Hawaii
my beach is quite cold
I live in San Francisco.
And I've become a bit obsessed with
with my city
you'll see a lot of maps of san francisco
and it's interesting,
I don't really feel like I ever picked san francisco. San Francisco just sort of
happened to me.
And that's the case for
a lot of things in my life - the things that I've become passionate about
they were never intentional decisions really, I just kind of stumbled into
something,
or got pulled into something.
And san francisco's similar.
I was in the bay area for college and after college
and after college ended up just sort of feeling this gravitational pull
towards the city
and ended up there.
While I was in San Francisco
I also
stumbled into another passion of mine, which is mapping.
This is the first mapping application I ever created.
I was working a software consulting company and just randomly got assigned
to a consulting gig
that was a map app.
This just a little dinky thing.
This is for
trying to maps photos that you take along a hike.
After this project I ended up, again,
completely randomly, being involved in a couple other mapping
projects and I started feeling that same sort of
gravitational pull
that was sucking me in. And I got fairly obsessed with maps.
After a couple consulting gigs, we realized that there was really something here and I helped
start a mapping start-up company called SpatialKey
This is what I do today
this is sort of my day job
We take large amounts of geo data and do interesting things with it
weather that's showing a heatmap,
or looking at Hurricane Sandy approaching the east coast
or in this case this is crime data in san francisco
and so i started just becoming completely obsessed again - with mapping.
And this is what I've been doing for the past five years.
I'm sort of just a programmer who
loves working with maps.
But I started getting really bored
and not bored with maps,
and not bored with
even the work
or my job
but I started getting bored
just with this screen.
We do all of our work on these screens and we sit
in front of these computers and we look at screens all day long.
It started feeling like
I was
constrained
I was stuck. I was locked within the screen.
And whether it's this screen or it's
the screen
on our phone or the screen on a tablet
it just felt so constricting.
I felt the need to break out of that.
I wanted to
create something real again,
something that
wasn't just
pixels
on a screen.
And then more fundamentally
I wanted to be this kid again.
if you look at this
the smile
on my face here that's not a smile of amusement
or
jori
this is just a small
i'm incredibly proud but what high was creating
with my own hands
and so i wanted to get back
and so i don't know i want to make things
but to make something re-elected
old something tangible
the good news is that
now it's a fantastic time
uh... the history of the world to see meeker
there are credible
offshoots uh...
it seems like you know every repugnant recruiter coming out
there are services that you can use if you don't
one investment hardware
uh... chief received no pillar to services used to be printing this mostly
supported
and of course there is you know all the machines that you can do
abatement soul
on twenty focusing on just a couple
abusing some choot your services
and then
uh... i have
and that was a pretty printer
uh... i have if he had
but there's so many options in hawaii
rage a price points if you're at all interested in some dabbling in the stuff
packed tightly recommends
taking the plunge in and by three printer is these are small pic tickets
on the desk but if you look carefully unions
and uh... it's been incredible
i'm on the phone
and so with the exception of one of the pieces that about show
everything else uh...
in this position is meeting somewhere
services
it's also work with with the first projects which relates to submit it to
work
who work with me
uh... software let's companies
respond to that
absolutely that's perfect way
or flooding
or wildfires or
obviously for organs
we want to talk for a few years and last year was a very busy year for us that
certainly sandy
was proteins tells and i was the california
and i was watching this event
and i was
leslie on the edge of my cv
was on the domestic side says that's her
often
forecasting updated
and so i watch
these forecasts coming
blowed up all the media
so it was what
storm as it more
and i was watching so closely that the shape of this thing
just started
being ingrained in my
headings like it entered my self-conscious
was sort of like a a rorschach test
of a walked right by third season
the
uh...
excesses ccs everywhere
elizabeth taylor life
when my hands
red italian place and so
problem although
steam table clock
instances that qualify
and out of the peacekeepers something's photo
but for her
uh... heroes like one of those places
lucy's jesus santos
they were everywhere you use the internet
once the season was so press
in my mind anything just in our homes
and so i figured what better way to get him to create something that was done
always says if you michael
as well
so i created some set of toasters
these are made out of
uh... two different except in blue
and i do stuff about bill which is uh... the service upload
a design
stable use their laser printers and put it all out
and you can cut these out
the re-ignited
about a plastic all sorts of
apu materials
so these are all too stale
company that i mean
brought sale and sort of
all instantly for the next century
compare copy
for instance if he was a really what's foremost thousand miles wide prepared
for me
and you can see if you do sort of a big difference there
this is one of the
uh... designs that i did send off such as an example
of what you do to you
create laser cut designs
the blue lines syndicate
intel polices all week
and then you also have different levels of the greetings of the panthers
delays between grave
and i want to get back in the mail
uh... wants to send that off yet we've got the weeks and you get this package
and nervous on the twenty cent
if it's pgp
sicker on all their packages
and i went on a bit of of the three products free
uh... it seems like
every week or so i had a new package showing up
was that restricted cited witnesses
the replied
i how twenty sitting on my doorstep it was like
christmas every week
as the start of the senate
processes extracted installed please but
forks um...
away about possible someone planning to do two different types of him
got elected in the dark shape and then
by putting off that about
can tell so uh...
court
another tool that you can
you can use and uh... that was the basic sense of it all together
uses sharpy's sitting on my
coffee table
close-up of ups one suspect resources of the the development
missus start working standing which is probably the most familiar
and people's minds
and so i really liked
the idea of taking something
massive something salty we're talking
mister battles and pilots across here
tinsley soapy engage
shrinking it down
uh... sort of like a giant leap for ancient unix right
bring it down to disposed of steel
immunotherapy cindy
was that's a force of nature
right falls miles wide
you know it's cap
left two hundred eighty five
it was this huge
his forces in asia and
you know we we charge so much papa understand these things we
we watch them on the new speed you look at all of the and think that we
what this really means for them
there's no way that we can really rapper head around that
and so
you do this idea that
this massive
their difficult to understand it is now the brought down to
his trainee sort of lightweight scale there sort of a
desi uh...
cognitive dissonance matt
that i i really like
you don't want to be
the second project here which is psalm
along with similar university
rafters i mentioned also work with hurricane
or start earthquake data
performer wakes of
the one of the more recent
uh... once in in people's pets can be there
earthquake a_t_t_'s of nineteen seventy
january twenty n
this was a huge event um... you know everyone remembers watching on the news
i'm sure
uh... estimates of anywhere from callous
to talk with three hundred thousand people
uh... it's kind of crazy that you use many years later
no one really knows
real death toll
from the system
this is the u_s_ g_s_ map
dances at the center
report prints
and sharper member ccs images on the news as we watch
trying to dig out
this is the data
before but she can't exist and so
before
repeated said
weaver called for lines
heavies shaking was at different locations
so i was sitting on it
you know it's looking at at this image in particular
i was struck by
are sort of the
pattern here
state where the format stress the role of the day
alastair cook's association a commitment right now as well
this is the
what just like
the release of a tree
and i don't want to trivialize
behavior
tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives were lost
but there is something
bobby fascinating about
thinking about this this one
as far as a consequence sort this perfectly
into southern africa
universally you think of ads
beautiful
sissy life on this planet
lvd both of those are just make sure exports
and university
beautiful thinking about that that
that we have something
and something beautiful
but deep down
there's sort of the same natural process
so wanted
creek something that's like that
since the designed the picture dot
profound
it's just the raw data uh... i didn't mean to change the data it's exactly the
data that i got
for the reply
and this is the
the piece that created so
this is not my wall that's made out of
two different types of would
against you can see uh...
solely
also uh... airports all the great
and so i was trying to do it
you you know when you get when looking at actually trump
but seemed sort of
process that's
fault here
conceited
cuts ingredient
so this is you know my wallet
to be a certain as a reminder
it's a reminder that
sometimes there's not that much difference between something horrible
and something beautiful
knew deep down to seem natural processes that
were responsible for four
a massive loss of life construction
v as well as the growth explaining
your for better or worse
those things are completely outside of our
and smita sir a certain sense of duty
shift gears stuff
one park right next project and kept on reprinted
but few years ago i created so that that's
uh... for san francisco
crime types in the density of those times in the city and i by treating
models
of census data shows
uh... mountain peaks where the crime
was the greatest
and took a step further
and i turned up the issue
uh... fridge magnet
use three cities service such a place where you upload
your model and then
they printed out
seabright printers that really did stop
you can print out
plastic tubing
products' ceramics um...
metal all sorts of interest
of cheap ways as a
a great job
it's a fantastic service the quality is much better than in the day
went into
printing sup
problem
you can check with
you extensive go fast
they charge simply based on boiling
so the figure model more expensive
trying to print large spins
gets really prohibitively expensive into parts of the testified if you also don't
know what isn't not quite right uh... and so it's parked just west of hundreds
of dollars on you know sort of a model
that's a reasonable size and so
i took the plunge
and i've bought my own reprints of this is the one that i had
this one prosecuting two dollars of but there are other are so many option
it sounded really just like the ones from out of
the options are range in price and request five hundred bucks to
moves around twenty five hundred
general range for for the home printers
now that i have my own three printer i want to see the initial assessment
just stop by and what what
so the plastic ones to use force
each roll call from thirty-five box and steve national option
uh... srry into plastic
and so far a the first night accepted with zte person models and despite a
sort of
he decides on
this is my first attempt just seeing you know what would happen quite i've
checked with the scenes larger
but uh... the printer that out
the builder is justified by five point five
king that's worth
max's eyes
of the borders of parker site
its but the one that i hadn't thought about it
uh... and so what i want to see what happens which that one this year
and this is this is one of those results uh...
these what i'm caught my slide by
crime labs over obvious reasons
this is a narcotics france
in san francisco
peace peeps to try to stretch them
justice for site
odds essentially five inches high because that's the high second-guess
and the result is this
applied hence the
email from like ah...
database perspective or a accuracy respectively dot
best practice
from sort of emotional artistic perspective
i really like
but what that that
ended up coming out of this
this is uh... prosecution prosecutions interesting in san francisco at least
prosecute wraps their there have been concentrated just along a couple streaks
consensus decision like that
was sort of these
always have a nice fobel's jutting out here
i thought about trying to bring some cute snaps
here but i don't think i would get this through security
it's actually pretty dangerous
is his soul
and so the stars
there's a lot of places and services that you get mugged
crimes are artech
words first although you see
wrists
relative peace that's the thing going
incensed about the way
just in case you're you're visiting in the future you know where that
you get on guard
newspeople
not vehicle thefts just everywhere
right like for instance solely all throughout the city
elizalde burned out
it's sort of
so be it it looks like appearance this underground ki
the sort of a head-on shot at this point
at this
crime in san francisco
and here's a full shot
uh... all four parts
answer because i had this
um... mathematician bus
the printer because they now have the skills which
three pretty capability
of the importance of experiment
exports
and one of these individual maps
that too expensive for me to death
sort of justify my printing
using shading works but now that i could
print and and and you know my criticism i just got home
and so i
i would've morning i go to work
and often slightly offering some of these people
some classic balance between hours
uh... to print
buser kicking off a letter run throughout the day it's it's always a
fun way to end the day to see
see what ends up
now if you would probably not since i don't know where i can
in my house
the peaks are actually really really shocked
applied
reunified mount them on the wall which was to be mine
that from over
but you can't help themselves
we certainly don't want the desk until themselves on the
but that's what we're going to have a problem
horrible things like uh... like jacket and pants
prostitution drives
lanston lighter
salim cuter
this is my son whose kids' health feast of the body of the couple
always gets fall
my wife is out of the shopping for combat stocks and willing
sometimes uh... i get it
jealous um... another
which included at that
articles for one-and-a-half
xiamen she came back one day in chicago destroyed which is starbuck cork board
match
style of nazi and so
this mapping
put on your kids wall
and then used keynesian
placed in surrounding teach them about
talking about
that hearing
your families from hearing panel
so i thought this through
probably jealous uh... he won't like it difficult for them
and i have
so i went on with my own
abortion but of course in some
obsessive services so i wanted to san francisco for or not
this is the design that i somehow
laser-guided
split up into two pieces for one of the big mouth one of the rules was my map at
bigger than my sons
and so i wanted a really big board were collected but they put up on my wall so
i i said that often and this is the
the result
not on my wall operate
put together
governor general outline
engraved in their hearts reversible five-person of streets senses fail so
that
warranted
and sab
yes or no where to place things
disturbed flow systems
dream house
and sources of the first thing i did not fight
brought this up on the wall was sort of placing somethings
n_p_r_'s funny
i sort of work with maps all digitally
writes a lot of
placed tons of digital
hands on digital maps but
i actually haven't had
experience working with
real maps in place and we will be
that's the said
that ends up
making its way onto our streets multiple markers that
that they dropped on
digital maps and see that
sort actually created with
and so that the first mapping date was influenced by my son
this is the locations of all the public libraries san francisco
uh... my son
because they're all time
and i think it's a sort of cool way to teach them about
about city about work but it's worth because some
he's a little bit don't
you know what i'm talking about and i think it's all maps but i think it's
never too young to
search those in
come to this type of stuff
the next map right it was was a lot of support that
uh... and this is the locations of all the public elementary schools in the
city
if you ask me
parents in san francisco
they will tell you that
the public school system
it's the
maps of the system
they're difficult not to be
completely decided
uh... it sort of a lottery system
never really know
where your kids than getting
begins with it's cooler bats floor the reaction
across the city to a different school
and so
this is something that we're going to be doing
as my son
and this was sort of my way beginning to wrap my head around this complicated
system
norms
housing numbers out of something more interesting but the more interesting
visual treatment might be too here
and sting so i'm not
i came across this method vocal on a triangulation
this map it connects all points together
and creates triangles
between all appoint
softened used for electric ballroom purposes
to regeneration
i want to take that seat map it applies
development to score points
and so that the results amala dot
through the cracks or are bought uh...
when about meetings process of
connecting everybody
and this is the the result of that
and this is the
really any more about
you want to stay in the system states just sort of a
generative art
exhorted represents the anyway uh...
what's the system wud
of inside
that plagues all parents in san francisco
um... that came out of it
this is just
of scale
in a couple close-ups here to see
uh... yaar
you can almost feel
the tactile nature
united instead so much fun working with digital maps you know and drawing
polygons drawing lines
points on that
but it was for it
fleet was something like that
although statements like digitally
but in a physical
this just one last shot of uh... speaking this apart diplomat
you want your hands
just because that was really struck by three
nastiness of
which i really enjoy it
sticking with
with public schools for a second com
uh... and non-profit that's or assault schools in california picked it up
this office what about that
and most official test scores a
uh... further called preschools liggett schools for us
of one ten twenty back then
and so you know as parents
this machine
want to know whether
for the school here is a good or not
so plentiful data options as well
mobile homes you such a sports
home and i want to try to sort understand that falling
aspect schools
novel cited on cynicism
basically seven-mile
by seven miles square such a very small city
and theirs
comparable sins
rubino supper square obviously but
president dot
assets by seven
and so i took that second by second squared by
uh... into great
uh... distasteful but full reaches a hundred forty four celsius
and then i once said to try to keep sellers or bomb
which store on what sort
he was always or but i
produced a song on
the highest for support yourself and also the price for school
uh... sort of a general concept in that
its full influence um...
surrounding area as well
and so this is the retrieval
probably
the collars lighter that arson or the
orders for explore sports
don't have any problems
so once do something with this one
a physical
i sold on bob
would not want
so one of the home depot and abortion what
no i don't know anything about work
what what sawa speedway at
might think it's so
also lost all still
install wallows develop
uh... and
uh... workshop
horribly inexperience
romantic notion that
saw and all this work
the general hospital i was going to be
one piece of wood for red square
uh... so obvious
it's romantic notion that a person
basilica of the senate issued a notice like that
so on
enjoyed my time
and asked her twelve hundred forty-four spots for bike that's not bad
along
it turns out
that's four hundred forty-four visa would buy it
this incredible pain the ***
but not recommend almost broke down about powersoft up properly
but but but made it all the way through
saw everybody
uh... that's not sitting on some mishaps
will not work and not solve the info
vote would come up and satins that different
filesystem sizes
and so the next step with pain
so this is why
workshop in the back
backyard whereas about the
uh... studio
spray-painted uh... everything
primary colors the general consequences
to turn back
some of the aesthetic
all these twins voice
and so this is for example book
one row in that
great and i just need everything together
the ones i told him to
wants at multiple rows of certain
assembling this this map
so this is the final
uh... sitting in my living room
spare on
units for the period that stand out
this is more
got hurt her seven bucks swear
it generally election
overall quality of the public schools in our city
the red and orange
orders for the price for c_n_n_
did in the white springs for the los feliz
and so this sort of got me
uh...
a piece that
that price
equality aspect of the school system
just slightly different people
here's a close-up shot and see the amazing woodworking uh... skills on
display
now because
thing about this
skis by fall
uh... have brought up upstairs
my son wants it
points including the sack
and stuff so it's not everything dot
michael stipe pockets works
sakta
loves and so the text was poisoned
and he said that
and saxena
on top of this matter
and so it's turned into that
which i think it's really
and you know as it grows older uh...
yet deal with allergies for situation
right away
into one document
red areas and knocked out through the lower
uh... peaks but
will sort of have to wait and see
well association
now
when i say unto schools looks
the first thing that that comes to mind
sex offenders
maybe my mom has a lot of thought
but if your parents uh...
in a c
you've all done that's right paul bonnie
love life where
whereas policy
princess for part of it
burning disinformation like what he did
nothing but
your parents and
regarding and beyond
look at this very much john's
was that the map evolves expansions in cisco
political statement
wants to do something with it
talks but the line trying
bullhorn away
which he said
create falling on twelve points
this is a unique holding on for each single point
and what is happening we do
uh... that's not the case
the points that are close together
uh... you as a personal polygons because ought not malignant
and then has appointed spread out man
and so invented sex offender
this is the resulting map
you start seeing some areas uh...
where the police personal
all-points very close together whereas in the first the polly pocket larger
that needs of the points that have spread out
densities
i think that's all for laser cut
and this list
white acrylic
about it
floating above
the black backgrounds here
and so this is the this is going on
all my wallet
you know i find it
like a a web
over the city
you consistency
investors are worth a cheap shot so small item behind them together uh... so
that i did not
weezer
and so you start seeing spots of white org
the i sense areas are
stopped site
preacher stopped now
floating above the backgrounds
and this one one final shot here
turned out um...
the best part
solving that
perhaps some of what sort of like at least abstract art
for the best part
episode
will be just walked
around with itself in a while
how that's that's cool
that was that my kids always say
editing a sex offender
which is sort of a fun thing to be able to do
in them on a little
sticking with with some nasa topics as
per second so we've got the last
welfare on
if this is world murders are
instances
so since two years of murders twenty eleven
went well
and you know again
you always pay attention
you know there's a there's a *** in the news
people don't
yes but i was
don't look at the maps of where the car
and so i want to take this data
and stanford something
notes for transforming ok uh... artistically
so i think that the same process them
you can see you know where the
they're very small
you've got four stars of
person for that spread out more about
on departure
just looking at this and visual
of sorts
to be reminded me a call
stained glass
the sort of this book of
useful fit together
and so wanted to try to
to replicate
uh... and answer
and the lake
some of that state
sent off to designs for laser cutting once the but out of
black plastic
wanted but part of
multiple colors pass a sort of so much
forward
this is
uh... in the process of putting that together as a couple of the colors about
uh... orange
and so i started this costs or assembly this
then stunned
i want to look at it
whose together i'm naive approach
despicable
possible blue
turns out that normal glued
destroy acrylic it uh...
has a chemical reaction chips in it
league you know
comes on to the rescue is magic
that is made just four crew
julia collectible dwelled on sixteen so with this new tooling and i was able to
to assemble
one of the the result of pieces here
so you can see through the the different colors the the mosaic fitting together
uh... and again there is a
the small issues
small schools less holler that that's where other of the most murders
used for self c
see how the colors for the fit together them though the colored
forces are that sometime
retreat that steve let's look
appears it it looks hopeless but for one
light shine through it so this is a shot of between live from the back
light rain through new really certain i'll give you the colors jump out
and um...
you start getting nasty blasts well
so here's another shot of
so want to take this but but i want to be something a little bit
spike had all these uh... i had four sheets of different colors here so i i
was of at least use
portions of of after one of these panels and so i don't know that this is a way
of something else
seems to get into a box so the boxes and a half
the senate side
but uh... four different sides
person and what we again
who want to the rescue
if you can search for like how to make a loser approx visible abt that
hope generate
the design files that they
sourceoecd
doll does peace efforts together
this is sort of what i call my
pretty little *** box
each side against these sitemap
so that they react steps
but certainly different configurations was on its side
withdrew from one side
you see the other side
we're going to sixteen last thoughts were good looks
list always work
so want tickets just one separate
on the bomb
of the box up
creating a home
to meet you
uh... using delightful
uh... and then
now to this part of what this is a
idea was to try to have light shine
so this is a reversal
intellectual force out and and really fills up the room sort of
explorers or or up on the walls on the ceiling
chrissy different shots each of the different at the different sites
supports
and what looks like the capture of your photos is really what it does
seem like i said the walls works
properties colors
beautiful ludwig or
red colors
itzel returns the rooms like this like
which is sort of
million general uh...
this pieces
taking something
again sweetie something
pants
process of previous always prudent probably about the last five months
there are four greed
at this conference uh...
this conference was
catalyst
kittyhawk massive
use
this creature
and on
i'm planning on continuing service for his life
uh... whose incredibly fulfilling
to work on these things
and i really hope that this is a certain beginning
the rediscover
my artistic side
because really i'm jesse locate my strong
on trial with
paper anymore
hydraulic
i want to try to
recapture
the product that was in the statistics
so it's been a privilege
being up here
people to share this work
with you guys uh... i definitely think john coale
and like i said all these things were created simply because
this fall but it's it's
is motivating factor
so thank you very much for inviting me here
and you know most of all it's one thing for them
knowing that no one ever ask questions but they will have
the
yes it's been spotted of
distance off
response
to doing something
i guess