Maps make the world. Mirrors of our loftiest dreams and deepest fears, maps draw literal lines between “you” and “me,” “us” and “other,” more often reflecting how we see it than how it is. Plotting Power: Maps and the Modern Age follows the use of map-like imagery for political, commercial, and other purposes in the first half of the 20th century, when the possibilities of travel and technology opened new horizons for global ambition. Featuring Wolfsonian collection items including paintings, prints, posters, industrial design, and graphic materials, the exhibition traces how maps and other representations of geography were shaped by design strategies, diverse agendas, and signature stories of modern history.

Plotting Power is made possible by the Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation and the Cowles Charitable Trust.