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.
