Wanted: Writers, Artists

June 21, 2007 — -- In August 2000, San Francisco-based graphic designer/artist Brian Singer sent 100 hard-bound black notebooks out into the world, simply leaving them on park benches and in bars, cafes, buses and taxi cabs.

Two and a half years later he had sent 1,000 journals into the void, accompanied only by a set of simple instructions on the inside flap.

"Take this journal and add something to it," the instructions read. "Stories, photographs, drawings, opinions, anything goes."

The user was then asked to pass the book along to a friend or a stranger, and send an e-mail to Singer when the journal was full so he could arrange to get it back and share its contents with the world.

Now, seven years later, Singer is doing exactly that.

Chronicle Books has published a compilation of the artwork, musings, photographs and other entries from the few journals Singer actually did get back in the book "The 1,000 Journals Project" under the pseudonym Someguy.

"The general idea is that the journals would go out into the world and get filled up and then, at some point, make it back to me," Singer said. "In truth, only two have done that so far, but several have been sent back that were in mid-progress, 1/2 full, 3/4 full and those were the ones that we used to compile the 'best of' for the book."

Politics, Emotional Events and Some Random Musings

Originally envisioned as a random creative outlet, Singer's project has turned into more of a social experiment than an artistic exchange. Entries vary from the intensely personal to the light and frivolous. Every page of each journal's 220 pages is different, and represents a new place, point of view and creative spirit.

"You get people who are using them as diaries and putting truly personal entries in them and then you get the people who are drunk at the bar gluing in the coaster and writing some rant about it," he said. "There's everything from photographs to stitch work, to actual sketchbook artists who get a few pages and do their thing. There's a wide range of stuff that gets thrown into these journals."

According to Singer, one of the most interesting aspects of these journals is the topics they share.

"It's funny how no matter where the journals are in the world, there are some commonalities among what people are experiencing. So, when Columbine, the Columbia exploded, and 9/11 [happened] you get a lot of reactions to that."

Passport Required for Journals

In their travels, the journals encountered people from many different backgrounds; this infused their content with a new take on the world, such as one person's first impressions of a distant land or another entrant's rearranging of the map of Africa. Singer said the latter "makes you think about borders and geography, especially in a place like Africa."

One person writes: "I don't feel like writing in this journal. It's too hot here. The people are so poor. The food is hot and smelly. We take a taxi out of town, but instead of seeing the countryside all I see is poor."

Other entries are more humorous, such as California teen Jeff Chang's addition to a journal:

"Hey all you sexy ladies, my name is Jeff Chang. I am 5'6'' and 19 years old. I'm also single and good-looking. I attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and my hobbies include art, video games, and J pop music. If you are beautiful, then let's get together sometime."

Chang's entry comes complete with an illustration of his ideal girlfriend, noting she "must be funny and easygoing," "Asian would be a plus," and "C-cup required."

As one would expect, some submissions are startlingly candid, full of raw emotion and honesty, such as one 18-year-old's description of his life:

"I wash dishes at a restaurant. I smoke pot every day. I am 18 years old. I'm a senior in high school. I have been dating the same girl for 10 months. I've been sleeping with her for 9. Everyday I dream of fortunes and riches, life without complications or responsibility. My friends are all addicted to meth. It is refreshing to see something like this [journal] in my town, a vague monument of creativeness and individuality. Maybe the banana peel wouldn't taste so bitter if God wasn't so oblivious. CM."

While Singer only got back a few journals, they certainly found their way around the world. He says the journals traveled to 40 countries and made stops in every U.S. state. There is no end date to the 1,000 journals project and he has not given up on the remaining 998 journals out there, somewhere.

"I imagine five years from now, 10 years from now journals will still be out floating around," Singer said. "They'll get forgotten in somebody's moving box, or something like that, but that just makes it more romantic to me. The longer they're out there the greater chance they have of capturing better stories. I'm looking forward to 10 years from now finding a new journal."