The work is composed in ink , pencil , colored pencil , and watercolor on paper and measures 28 by 19 inches ( 71 cm × 48 cm ) . When exhibiting this work along with alternate versions and sketches , the University of Pennsylvania summarized the work as a " bird 's @-@ eye view of the city from Ninth Avenue in a straight line westward , with space becoming ever more condensed ... " They also described the work as a tongue @-@ in @-@ cheek view of the world . New York interpreted the New York @-@ centric mind 's view of the rest of the world as a set of outer boroughs as iconic . National Post journalist Robert Fulford described the perspective as one in which the entire world is a suburb of Manhattan .