Friday I met with friends Lynne and Beryl to see the Barron Storey journals at The Society of Illustrators in New York. First, it was really cool to experience the work with fellow artists. Second, it was even cooler to witness a light-bulb moment in a complete stranger who walked into the exhibit having no idea what it was about, who Mr. Storey is, and what visual journals are. She was compelled to ask me about it all and was lamenting her commitment to lunch with friends in a few short minutes as she really wanted to stay and page through alongside us. THAT is pure evidence of how intriguing it is to look through someone's pages.
This man presents 30 something years of work in 100 journals, laying open with the invitation to leaf through. He is a master illustrator – in pencil, in ink, and with paint. Some pages were simply sketches, others were complex and layered with both imagery and text. Some looked like fine art paintings, others were comic book/graphic novel style - there were pages filled with thumbnail sketches, lists, architectural elements, costumes, faces, abstract doodles – he is skilled with any mark-making tool….and has an immense visual vocabulary. If you pause long enough on any given page you are granted a direct line into his thoughts and perspective, relative to the entry made that day. This event was such a unique experience to be allowed access to every single page. It was personal, it was moving, it was a gift, it was a privilege. There is a publication, a reprint of Life After Black, available at the venue which documents Journal #45. I appreciate having the evidence of this adventure to take home.
Many of us are familiar with how journal pages look as seen in a book or magazine, or on a blog. Seeing visual journals in Real Life is way different. There is something so cool about observing DIMENSION that can't be caught in print. Color, scale, texture, metallics, shiny or dull bits can all be misinterpreted by the camera or scanner. I recall the thrill of being in my first collaboration of art journals. Seeing, touching, turning the pages on work that wasn't my own was an incredible learning experience. If you've ever paged through someone else's journal then you know what I mean. There is so much more to a page than what is captured on film. It's a magical thing to hold a book of art in your hands. Magic.
If you live in the NYC area get your plans made to see this event. It ends July 31st.