“There’s something about the idea of Every Person in New York that my mind could get around, more so than the idea of Every Person in America, or Every Person in the World. Living in New York is something I think about a lot and I was looking for more ways to learn about it.” Jason Polan, from his introduction to volume I.
Jason Polan’s powers of observation — so simple, quick, supple, fun, and visually intelligent — made him one of the consummate draftsmen of the 21st century. Thinking back, I realize I never saw him not drawing. He was always on a street somewhere in New York, notebook in hand, following people, sitting off to the side, watching, a slight smile on his lips, this human seeing-machine saw and drew it all.
“Each of us has no art but our own. Jason found his, spread it far and wide, shared it with the world, and gave us all his small joys and tender mercies of a life lived in art and looking.” -Jerry Saltz, New York Magazine.
Jason Polan (1982-2020) was an artist living in New York City whose work has been exhibited all over the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia. His projects include “The Every Piece of Art in The Museum of Modern Art Book,” “An Entire Bag of Popcorn,” "Things I Saw" and a daily drawing in The New York Times for a year, “Every Person in the Phone Book…” Jason founded the Taco Bell Drawing Club in 2005. The club met every week at the Taco Bell on Union Square in New York City and at Taco Bells around the world whenever he traveled.