The Great Bear

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The Great Bear is an artwork by Simon Patterson produced in 1992. At first glance the work looks like the London Underground Tube map, but Patterson uses each line to represent groups of people, from scientists, saints and philosophers to comedians, explorers and footballers. He subverts the concept of maps and diagrams as authoritative sources, and challenges our assumption that they can be utilised without question by taking this iconic information source and adding his own idiosyncratic data to it.

The copyright of the work is shared between the artist and London Underground from whom the artist obtained permission after protracted negotiation.

The work is in an edition of 50 with a small additional number of artists proofs.

[edit] Examples

• The Metropolitan Line is called Musicians Line. The main line runs between Telemann (Amersham) and Martin Heidegger (Aldgate, also on the Philosophers (Circle) Line). The branch lines run to Corelli (Watford), Fontana (Chesham), and St. Joan (Uxbridge, also on the Saints (Piccadilly) Line).
• The Bakerloo line is marked as the Engineers Line, running between Orville and Wilbur Wright (Harrow & Wealdstone) and Barnes Wallis (Elephant & Castle, also on the Film Actors (Northern) Line).

[edit] External links

• The Great Bear
• The Great Bear (detail)
• The Great Bear in the Tate Collection