A terresterial portrait, much like Rodriguez-Gerada’s “Expectations” shown above, will soon adorn the National Mall.
GPS technology has seen any number of applications, but starting this month it will be put to an unusual use: creating a six-acre landscape portrait at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. The project is titled “Out of Many, One” and has been commissioned from Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, an artist known for large-scale and terrestrial portraits, like the one of President Obama shown above.
Dubbed as a ‘facescape’ this work of art will be a composite of several different faces, viewable from the top of the Washington Monument. The portrait will be placed south of the Reflecting Pool, between the World War II and Lincoln Memorials.
The GPS technology and expertise for the project will be supplied by Topcon Positioning Group, using a combination of high-precision GPS satellites and hybrid positioning equipment to place the image correctly. While Topcon will provide the technology and personnel for the project, Rodriguez-Gerada is supplying the imagery.
“Topcon GPS technology is my paintbrush,” Rodríguez-Gerada said to GPS World.
Positioning for the project will begin September 15, and the finished artwork will be unveiled sometime in October.
