The entirety of “Jerry’s Map,” a sprawling art installation consisting of over 4,100 individual panels, was unveiled for the first time as a complete set Monday evening at an open house held at the Strongheart Center.
Maple City artist Jerry Gretzinger, 83, spent decades developing the map, an ongoing art work that maps an everchanging, imaginary world. He began the map in 1963 and over the years, it evolved into an abstract composition, with changes determined by an elaborate set of rules and randomly generated instructions. These instructions are on a deck of modified playing cards that helps to guide Gretzinger on what to do next.
The art piece, which was set up on the floor of the Strongheart Center and measures six stories tall if installed on a vertical wall, blends cartography with abstract composition and utilizes everyday materials like acrylic paint, colored pencils, photographs, product packing, ink and inkjet prints combined together on 8” x 10” sheets of paper. The oldest panels are located in the middle of the installation, while the most recent ones can be found around the edge of the map.
In addition, the map’s installation is the first time in over a decade that it has been shown as a completed set. The map was previously shown at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2012, when it was only 2,600 panels in size.
Part of Gretzinger’s map in its 2015 stage, consisting of approximately 2,441 panels, was also selected to be permanently installed at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. It will be on display in the new Consolidated Rental Car Facility (CONRAC) expected to open this spring and will span the entire four stories of the CONRAC’s customer service building.
“I never thought it would get to be this big, but when I started making it, I just kept drawing and drawing, so I got to the edge of the paper and then added another sheet, and then another one, and another one, and it just kept going that way,” Gretzinger said. “It’s been shown never in its entirety, but it’s been shown in Paris and Japan, and more recently in Prague, Czechoslovakia… So this is by far the biggest installation ever.”
Gretzinger took a break from working on the map for about 20 years to focus on family and business priorities. At the time, he had only about 800 panels completed. In 2003, after his eldest son discovered the map project stored away in their attic, Gretzinger said he was inspired to start working on it once again. Now, 63 years later, the total number of panels have more than quadrupled.
Gretzinger said the experience thus far of revealing his work has been really exciting, and hopes that the public enjoys viewing it in its current state, as it will continue to grow into the future.
“It’s never done and it (the map) is always changing,” Gretzinger said.
Gretzinger said everything worked out perfectly in terms of finding a location that could accommodate his art work, noting how wonderful it’s been to collaborate with the Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ staff at the Strongheart Center. At the open house, seasonally inspired, light maple-themed food and refreshments were provided by Darylin Berryman, a GTB member and Native Food for Life chef.
The map and the process of its completion is also part of a documentary filmed by the team from the popular YouTube channel, “People Make Games.”
As the channel name suggests, Chris Bratt and Quintin Smith create documentaries typically about games and the people behind them. While their background is in games, the team likes to stretch what that word means to people through their storytelling. Bratt said they were drawn to Jerry’s story because of the way in which he’s created the ever-evolving map, and were eager to travel from England where their team is based to document his work in Michigan.
“There’s a lot of things that we sort of recognize as sort of game rules, game mechanics, game design, and the idea that that can lead to something like this being created is very exciting to us,” Bratt said. “We just thought he was the most interesting man… So we’re just so excited to bring our audience to a story they may not have usually sought out. We’re sort of starting through a lens of games as a way into it, but obviously this is a story about so much — it’s about him and his family.”
Bratt and Smith spent several days with Jerry on his farm and in his studio talking about and recording the artistic process of his work and even assisted in placing some of the panels together as they were setting up at the Strongheart Center.
Jerry’s wife, Meg Staley, who is a local artist herself, contributed to the map, and more than 20 volunteers signed up to assist with the set up and take down of the installation. The community reach of Jerry’s map project has had great impact, too, Bratt explained, and played an important part in the project.
“It’s been a really wonderful experience and it’s been so amazing to come to Michigan as well... We feel so fortunate to be able to collaborate with the team here and to be able to use this space is incredible,” Bratt said.
The documentary is slated to release early this summer, Bratt says, but in the meantime, those interested can follow along to view the published piece as well as any updates via their YouTube channel “People Make Games.”
