Courtesy Jason Polan

"Man at Taco Bell" by Jason Polan

Send a letter to the Editor

Save to Del.icio.us Digg this

Polan, whose illustrations have been published in The New Yorker and shown in various galleries, hatched "Every Person In New York" in March 2008. "I love interactive projects," says Polan, who studied art and anthropology at the University of Michigan and whose other projects include "The Every Piece Of Art In The Museum Of Modern Art Book" (a deluxe edition of which includes a guided tour of the museum by the artist followed by a hot dog or pretzel), "and I wanted to do something where I could interact with everyone in the city."

Each day, Polan draws anywhere from three to three hundred people. So far, he's illustrated more than 8,300, including well-known residents Julianne Moore, Willem Dafoe, Parker Posey, Yoko Ono, Nick Cave, Art Spiegelman, and John Currin, as well as lesser-known New Yorkers like Gary at the Whitney, Peggy walking up Mercer, Lady grading papers and wearing plaid leggings on the Uptown 6 Train, Hacky-sackers in Washington Square Park, and Man wearing a Boba Fett helmet and playing the theme song to The Pink Panther on his accordion in Union Square station.

To be drawn sooner rather than later and included in Polan's project (documented on his blog), you can email him (art@jasonpolan.com) a specific time and spot where you'll be standing still for two minutes (give him at least a 24-hour warning). Alternatively, you can frequent one his favorite places to draw: MoMA ("When people check out artwork they aren't worried about how they look"), south of Houston Street ("People wear interesting clothes in Soho, and there's this bench I really like to sit on"), the American Museum of Natural History ("I have a fascination with bones"), or the Taco Bell on 14th Street between Fifth Avenue and University Place ("I think the hard taco is the best item on the menu, but I order something different every time. I like to change it up.")

At his current pace, if New York's population doesn't increase, Polan will finish "Every Person in New York" in just under 80 years, but he's thinking outside the five boroughs as well. "I don't have formal plans for other cities yet," Polan says, "but I'm working on it."