Harley’s ability to distinguish cultural interpretations of cartographers is a remarkable insight into not only understanding maps, but also reading between the lines in other forms of art. Very elemental paintings and photographs can be interpreted through the concept of neutrality. With abstract art, images are intended to evoke certain feelings or thoughts in the viewer, but with less explicit rhetoric, reading between the lines can be much more challenging.
With the map of the coastline, the land is muted with its plainness. Contrastingly, the water and the shoreline is precise and detailed. The inlets, the rivers, and the islands are all labeled and comprehensive. The map of Camden is political in its variable font sizes and descriptions. It details a town bustling with commerce. Contrary to the coastal map, it makes the coastline and harbor appear plain and unimportant. These differentiations can be interpreted as local identities, the mid coast map is functional–it provides critical knowledge for the working man. It brings out this hidden blue collar identity. The Camden map evokes leisure and retail success. The function is essential for Camden’s municipal workers, but implies the space’s identity of small business and wealth.
Each map appears scientific or purposeful on the surface, but cartographers have created these underlying appeals to their own map design. In this sense, they form this “hidden aspect of their discourse” that can be seen across forms of art (Harley 4). The distortions they create provide a framework for culture within space.