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.