Interview by Winter Mendelson | Portraits by Ashley Kolodner
Tim Anderson is an artist born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. His work consists of small-scale very detailed city plans that he designs from his imagination.
Hi Tim. Where are you from?
My name is Timothy Anderson, I am 24 years old and I was born and raised in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, NY. I attended local public schools until 2006 when I attended the Cooper Union for a semester studying architecture. In 2007 I transferred to the City College of New York where I have changed my major a few times. I am glad to say that I will be graduating in May 2013 with a bachelor’s in Political Science.
You said that you grew up in Brooklyn. How did that affect your work?
Growing up in Brooklyn has certainly provided me with an array of different cultures, lifestyles and inspiration. Since I was very young I was always inspired by maps and the movement of people from one place to another. An elevated subway runs at the end of my block and that was probably why I became interested in trains. I was really excited when I first laid my eyes on my first New York City Subway Map when I was young. I must have drawn that map dozens of times over. Eventually I started adding my own lines and ideas and I think from that point on I moved to designing neighborhoods and cities. The subway and anything related to it really provided me with a lot of inspiration.
What led you to begin creating your own fictional architectural city plans?
I think I was a perfectionist at a young age when it came to how cities were laid out and designed. When I realized I could move beyond designing maps and add my own spin to them that is when I started making these city plans. As you might imagine I love SimCity. I remember when I was about 10 years ago and my cousin bought me SimCity 2000 for Christmas. The idea of designing my own maps and cities on a computer was very cool, but once I realized I could do it on paper and have a free hand in what went where that was when I my maps started to morph into something more that included buildings, parks and elements of a city.
Your maps are so complex. How do you chose a composition for your layout?
I always tell people I stare at maps for a few hours and they laugh, but I am really serious, I do! I look at different layouts and try to make my own or improve on ones that I think need some work.
Are there cities in particular that you reference?
The great cities of the world are my references. I try and look at different cartography websites and I like to go into the Map Room at the New York Public Library. I know there are other people who have great ideas who love maps and cities as much as I do and they have some really great work. I usually look at maps of major cities such as New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Seoul and I look at how they are laid out. I try to add different aspects of each city, different landmarks, street names and I adjust them as I see fit. Some of my designs I just improvise, and others that I want to base off of actual cities I get from maps. Google Maps has really helped me out.
Once I saw your work I was thrilled to feature you as an artist. Have you exhibited anywhere else?
Most of my work is displayed online on my two websites. I have not had the opportunity to exhibit them in a art show or gallery as yet, but I am certainly open to it.
There is so much detail in every piece. What materials do you use to make those delicate marks?
My designs are done in Moleskine books, using three types of pens. Staedtler pigment liners 0.1, Micron 005 and Pilot Razor Point pens are my pens of choice. I use the different pen points to represent different elements of the design. The heaviest lines I use for map symbols and representations. The lighter lines are used for text and in the buildings.
On average how long does one piece take you to complete?
It really depends on the piece and my schedule. I really try to draw as much as I can, but I often do it at work or at home when I have some down time. I would say on average that a spread, 8 inches by 10 inches would take about 2 weeks. I want to do a drawing marathon sometime and sit and draw a whole piece in a day and see how long it takes me to do it.
Do you have any future goals for your city designs?
I have a few goals, some of which I can move forward on very soon. I would like to finish designing a particular city that I have been working on for years. There have been so many revisions I can not keep track of how many times I have redrawn this city. I think that I have finally worked into a design that I am happy with and will continue to update it from this point forward. I would also like to experiment more with color. I think that the cities look very wonderful in black and white but I am a little curious what a bit of color would to do to them. In addition I was also working on a short story for some of these cities. I was always fond of books such as “Islandia” by Austin Tappen Wright or other works of fiction that included a map. I hope to really work on my writing and see if my designs can spark other ideas. I also would like to try and draw an existing city and see how my style could be incorporated into something that is already existing.
