N1W17: First Iteration

Here's the first iteration of Segment N1W17. (I have decided to call them segments since they are not, technically, quadrants.) I anticipate that there will be at least ten of these segments since each comprises 256 panels, and there are well over 2300 panels now.

Other Map  news: The Void's characteristics are taking shape in my mind, and the evidence will start to show up here soon. I am beginning to think that the inhabitants of The Void are those people who have been displaced from The Map itself. And I like Shaz's suggestion that the language of The Void not be expressed in the Roman alphabet. I suspect that it's going to be composed of hieroglyphs. Sound good?

Keep with the comments, folks! I need feedback! Thanks!

S1W1: First Edition

Here's the first posting of the S1W1 "quadrant". (Apologies for the lack of cropping!) It's starting to take shape. Thanks to those of you who bought the eight panels shown above. I still have panels to post to other quadrants and will do that soon.

A simple appeal

Most of you already know that The Gretzinger Map will be shown at a major contemporary art museum in late 2012. We are very excited about this and anticipate an enthusiastic response.

In the meantime, however, we are writing to ask your help. The expenses of preparing for the show are mounting: ink, paper, paint, money for an intern/assistant, additional travel, meals.

We need your support. What you can do is hit the ebay.com button on the right, look at the offerings, and then hit one (or more) of the "Buy It Now" buttons. The Map panels, tiles, and prints listed there range from $4.16 to $360. You'll get not just a unique piece of this huge work, but we'll put a thank you inscription on The Map itself.

If you don't see anything that strikes your fancy on ebay please tell us and we will attempt to put something out there that will work for you.

Thanks!

Some stats

I recently did an updated Map inventory, and here is some fodder for you fellow number freaks:

The Map is now composed of 2346 individual 8" by 10" panels. Of those, 1461 first generation panels have been completed or "retired". 1086 Generation II and higher panels have been retired. These numbers do not include the 45 or so original panels which have been sold.

The Map comprises 21 parishes which include 362 cities. The combined population is 15,925,015. The most populous parish is Southchurch (3,375,602), and the largest city is Ukrainia (2,407,704). The second largest is Geo (1,267,154).

Also in the news: the first Void city was created this week, and I haven't figured out what to call it or how to characterize and account for it. Ideas?

N1/W1 Update

Thanks to a few recent purchases this "quadrant" is starting to take shape. Do you see Ukrainia up there? About half of it is now represented.

A word on my pricing of the prints and originals: when posting a panel for the first time I put it out at 120% of the average price paid to date for that type of panel. If it hasn't sold after 30 days I mark it down 20%. I keep doing that every 30 days until it is sold. I want you all to become collectors, and I want The Map to be affordable for everyone. I will let the market set the price.

Gratitude

I met with the director of a major contemporary art museum last week, and he has invited me to show the entire Map there in the Fall of 2012. Greg Whitmore will be there filming the installation, and my studio will be installed in the gallery, too, so that I can continue to work while the project is being shown. I'll give more details as the plans become firm.

I woke up at 3:30 the morning after the meeting, and, in my head, began thinking of all the people who have made this 48-year voyage possible. I want to thank some of them now.

I thank......

My late mother for giving in and not making me go outside to play baseball when I wanted to stay in the basement mixing paint or making collages

Rick for being willing to play my fantasy games with me when he really wanted to be outside playing baseball

Gerry for giving me the job at Hoover Ball Bearing which afforded me the time to start the first Map seeds

Jim for putting up with me while I drew maps on the walls of our apartment in Beja while waiting for my foot locker to arrive with the real Map

Barbara for bearing with me for as long as she did

Nelle and Aaron for coming to forgive the dad who couldn't hear their questions while he was engrossed in his project

David and Judy for urging me to take on NYC creative scene and thengiving me a haven in DC when NY was too much

The folks at that NYC art commission who gave me the official label of "artist" so that I could live in my AIR loft

To Stephen for showing me that years in the trenches can turn into days of glory, for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm

Meg for being a wife/partner/friend/critic/inspiration/angel to me for these thirty plus years and without whom I would have died and this project turned to dust

Hank for rediscovering The Map in the attic in Cold Spring and being my techno-genius

Lucky for being a bright light and a believer

Lynn for years of artistic and graphic design support

Richie and Marco for finding tiles in the workplace and thinking the project was cool 

Chris for having a brain like mine and sharing that while he interned with me

Chloe, Matt, Brian, and Mike for being the anonymous (almost) Haldane fans and writing me those notes

The other children and young guys of Cold Spring who have collected the "tiles" deposited on ledges around the village

Ed and Peter who helped me reformat  the whole mess

Annie, Jane E, Olivia, and Lilah for being part of  Meg's Smith support group and, thereby, Map boosters

Michael and Michele for being such avid fans of the project

Cathryn for being an early devotee and wanting to paper her walls with prints

Jaynie for being a booster and guest artist

Those patrons who have bought prints on eBay

Jared for looking at what I was doing and telling me that the world needed to see it, too

Sony for trying to connect me with a gallery

Phil for telling me that The Map needed to be put on the Internet and then doing it

Anna for being a very longtime friend and for introducing me to Phil

Nancy, Bill, Thomas, Tibi, Gray, Violet, Penelope, Marco and the other "guest artists" who have contributed not just visuals but moral support

Kitty for including me in her second book

The guys in Berkeley who included me in that Oakland show- my first public exposure, albeit small

Waz and Fran, friends for more than 50 years, who lodged me during that show

Carl who validated me and the work and who would have shown it had he had the space

Carinda who had the space and the vision and the guts to give me my first big public showing at the Garrison Art Center

Thomas who curated that show and acted as my mentor

To Jaanika and Susan who shared that show (and another) with me and who have been unfailing supporters

Tracy and Mark who hosted the opening party and who have always been there with hugs or a poke in the ribs

John, Pat, and David who showed  their support by buying panels from the GAC show

Shelley who was the first to get one of the 4 by 5 foot vinyl prints

Jen and John who chose to feature The Map in their new dining room and who are exemplary next-door-neighbors

Steve and Jeff who selected me to show in the primo venue of ArtPrize 2009 and who gave me space for the largest showing to date

Rick who sponsored ArtPrize and made the first major purchase of Map originals for installation in his new office

Chris who gave The Map a ton of space in his gallery show in NYC

Dayna who selected The Map for showing at Right Brain and who has been a tireless cheerleader

Gail for her eye and her energetic hands-on input: watch for Volume XII of Uppercase

Pat for being an early fan and willing sharer of his editing knowledge

Kate for planting the seed on facebook that grew into the August buzz

Greg, the artist/friend/videographer who made the beautiful and masterful video that exposed not just the work but my creative process to the public

Shawn who recognized something special in the video and made the connection with the institution which will do the 2012 show

Joe for seeing beauty in what I have wrought and being willing to use his resources to put it on display

I know this list is long and that it rings of Academy Award speeches. I haven't won anything, and I have forgotten way too many people in making this list. But there is no best time to say thank you. Or, maybe rather, anytime is a good time. Thank you for letting me do it now.

N1E1

Here it is: the first poor, lonely little panel of the N1E1 "quadrant". Won't you go to eBay and buy it some neighbors?

Home again!

I'm back in my Cold Spring studio once more and am very excited to be trying a new collage configuration. More on that later!

The trip home went smoothly, and I was able to deposit about 40 tiles in places like Mesick and Snow Shoe, Sandusky and Marion. Anyone found any? What boggles my mind is that I have distributed over 7000 of those little guys, and no one, not one single person, has ever contacted me about finding one. Well, that's not counting the local Cold Spring kids who started collecting them a few years ago and left what they thought was an anonymous note on my porch!

Also of note: a few people have requested original Map panels, and, in response, I have started to list a few on eBay. The first generation panels, entirely hand-done, will be priced at $240, and the later generations, largely inkjet prints with some hand-done additions, at $60. Go get 'em!