kirkton of aboyne
This work is exhibited as an archival print of the digital image whose full title is:
Kirkton of ABOYNE & Environs, Being an artist’s conception pertinent to the origins of the Cromar Sept of Clan Farquharson, Based on records compiled and published in the List of Pollable Persons Within the Shire of Aberdeen, Rendering settlements such as may have been occupied by progenitor PETER CROMAR 1690 – 1770 & his contemporaries in ANNO DOMINI 1696, Supplemented with archaeological & documentary research of historical patterns of use & governance from recognized authorities
Below is a detail of the map focused on the Kirktoun of Aboyne, as it was spelled in 1696. This was the most probable home of Peter Cromar, now buried at the ruins of the Kirk of St. Adamnan. Fields are denoted as furrowed runrigs (a farming technique of the time), grainy grazing fields, or smooth tended grass. Settlements are noted by buildings, walled pens, bare roads, and, in rare instances, paving. Water features are dark blue, and forests are dark green. Borders of townships are indicated with a gradient in alternating colors red, blue, or magenta for contrast. Everything depicted is hypothetical, but based on careful research.
specifications
- date 2023
- media vector digital artwork
- size 36″ h 48″ w
- exhibition history Exhibition of this work is pending
description
The concept is a map that accurately depicts the Kirkton of Aboyne and other locations within the ancient Paroch of Aboyne in the Presbytery of Kincarden in Scotland in the year 1696, a time of great disruption not unlike our own. My ancestors were recorded in the Aberdeenshire Poll Book at a time when my progenitor and sixth great-grandfather, Peter Cromar, was a small child. I include every settlement in which Cromars are found in Aboyne in 1696. This determined the extent, and therefore the scale and size, of the map. This ensures that, whether Peter could be found in Kirktoun or a place such as Drumgask or Milne of Charletoun, I would capture the place where he was raised.
The aesthetic of the map is layered set of anachronisms, deliberately reflecting all the documentary sources for the map. Typographically, there are nods to the conventions of labeling and scaling from 19th century Scottish Ordnance Survey maps. Chromatically, the coloration of the map reflects 21st century satellite imagery. Turns of phrasing in the text, such as the flamboyant title of the map, reflect 17th century language. At the same time, I wanted my own sense of visual expression — my own mark-making and style — to remain evident.
This work was inspired by the task Thomas Pynchon set for himself when he wrote Mason & Dixon, a novel more relevant to the state of American culture now than when it was first published. Pynchon’s work is a fictionalized account of two historical figures who mapped one of the most famous lines in all of cartography. Pynchon creates aesthetic anachronisms, demonstrating a deep understanding of language in the 18th century time frame of the story. At the same time, this language comes off as pure Pynchon, given that this narrative device describes robotic ducks and other improbabilities. Where Pynchon’s is a literary attempt, mine is an exercise in graphic design. However, our shared goal is not to make time seen so much as to generate meaning from time, as the evolution of the space of our ancestors that we occupy now makes its passage manifest.