Jerry Gretzinger's Map

jerrysmap.blogspot.com

An update and some ruminations

Here's an update to the S1W17 segment. Not too much to reflect on here.

But other things have been crossing my mind. I wonder, for example, if my Map is the largest modern painting. Or if there are any other such projects around. My hunch is that it is unique in the world of art, modern or ancient- one single perpetual work that has been in progress for  a little over 48 years and which now covers over 1300 square feet of surface.

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, by comparison, took 4 years to complete and covers about 5600 square feet. It's not as detailed as my Map. So, it's hard to compare the two. I'd love to have my work be as expansive as Michelangelo's, but I probably will not live long enough to get there. Nor do I have a Pope Sixtus V to support me while I work on it.

Anybody out there know of comparable works? Perpetual works?

On modular art

One of the beauties of Jerry's Map is that it can be collected piecemeal. This art is modular. You can buy a panel now and add adjacent panels later to create a bigger work. As a matter of fact, you can send me a message requesting that I post certain panels on eBay. I will try to accomodate such requests whenever I can.

So, if you have bought a panel or see one that you like and would like to augment that area with contiguous panels, let me know!

The largest installation to date is that of a collector in Grand Rapids. In 2009 he bought 35 contiguous original panels for installation in his new office. Our next-door neighbors here in Cold Spring have a set of 20 prints on their dining room wall.

I suspect that a lot of Map fans think that the work is only meant to be viewed in its entirety. That will happen in the fall of 2012, but one day this Map will be too big to assemble in any reasonable space (if I live long enough!). My intention, however is that each panel be able to stand alone as a composition. Some, of course, are stronger than others. Such is fate!

Whether you want one panel, framed and hanging on your study wall, or a set of 40 prints papering the whole wall, tell me what you need! I'll do my best to give you what you want!

N1W1 is beginning to take shape

Thanks to Jason and Wendy and Anita and Michael and Paul and all the others who have recently bought Map panels on eBay,  things are starting to take shape. You can see most of the core of Ukrainia in the upper left of this montage. Jackson is that urban panel right near the center of this page.

Tell your friends to get on the stick and buy a few, too! The dollars help keep me in cartridges and pay Roberto whose help on the computer has allowed me to spend more time in the paint pots.

Things are at a very exciting stage right now. The "ziggurat" collaging is very satisfying. The creation of the first Void city is intriguing. The anticipation of a Void language keeps me fantasizing. All good stuff!