It’s always a bit disappointing when something so inspirational turns out to be a fake. I mean, the idea is still a great one, but I’m still a little let down.
But after bloggers pointed out holes in Nordenankar’s claim, DHL confirmed to the Telegraph that the artwork was an “entirely fictional project”.
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Many pointed out that DHL delivery planes would have been highly unlikely to make the tight loops in the North Atlantic that form the hair of the self-portrait.
Others noted that many of the package’s mid-route stops appear to be in the middle of the ocean.
“[He] could have at least centered the drawing over the land areas, so it would be more believable that DHL had made stops there, as opposed to a DHL plane making loop-the-loops out over the Atlantic,” a reader called Shinanigans posted on the Neatorama blog.
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“A GPS signal cannot penetrate dense materials. That briefcase looks dense enough to block the signal and the roof of a car or thick walls of an airplane blocks the rest,” a blogger named Samppa79 wrote.
The planning that must have gone into this is amazing and the results are even more so! Artist, Erik Nordenankar, created a self portrait, spanning the globe, measuring 40,076,594M x 40,009,153M.
With the help of a GPS device and DHL, I have drawn a self portrait on our planet. My pen was a briefcase containing the GPS device, being sent around the world. The paths the briefcase took around the globe became the strokes of the drawing.
Jason Polan is a crazy guy. But, crazy in a great, great way. Mr. Polan is setting out to draw every person in the city of New York! This is the wonderful next step after his completion of drawing every piece of art in MOMA (the book, of which, would make a great birthday present *wink, wink*). I shall be on the lookout, on his blog, for myself and Jack.
I am trying to draw every person in New York. I will be drawing people everyday and posting as frequently as I can. It is possible that I will draw you without you knowing it. I draw in Subway stations and museums and restaurants and on street corners. I try not to be in the way when I am drawing or be too noticeable. Whenever I have a new batch of drawings I will post them on this blog.
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When the project is completed we will all have a get together.
I absolutely love this idea by artist, John Martz. What a great way to expand upon and have a greater understanding of the nuances of facial features! I might end up trying this out (on a smaller scale) for my own benefit. Thanks for the inspiration, John!
Excelsior 1968 is a high school yearbook for the fictional Bristol County Secondary School in the fictional Staedtler, Ontario.
Each student here is redrawn (and renamed) from my mother’s actual 1968 high school yearbook.
