Atlas, a bet and the atlas-device

Abstract

What is the concept behind the atlas? Would it be a mythological titan? A collection of images and maps followed by enlightening explanations? This article targets to conceptualize what an atlas is supposed to be, and to reposition its function by removing it from the category of a merely consulting “product-object”. Furthermore, this work quests to present the atlas as an interactive device, making it an operative and collaborative method of acquiring knowledge, in order to contribute to the debate on the construction of information. By questioning the atlas limited and exploratory nature, consisting of data mainly selected by its developers, the new atlas presents itself as an instrument of analysis, perception, exchange and epistemological formulation. Different arrangements –or “nebulae”– are captured, decoded, correlated and recorded through the atlas. Thus, rather than a unidirectional relationship, thinking and doing by the atlas means to establish an interaction through which the reader assumes the role of creator and protagonist by engendering new angles and narratives about a given object. Referenced in Aby Warburg's emblematic work, the Atlas Mnemosyne (1927-1929), and the interpretations of historian and philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman, the text aims to point out how the creative thinking and interactive use of a digital platform –New Cities’ Atlas (prototype) – can be formulated, tested and replicated by other scholars, researchers, managers, and those interested in producing information and knowledge.