Product Description

Voyeuristic. Inspirational. Entertaining. One thousand blank journals are currently circulating throughout the world, beckoning contributors who find the journals by chance on trains, in caf s, and anonymously left on doorsteps. Artist Someguy shares more than 250 of the best entries: a collage of African countries repositioned into a new continent; the musings of a teen trapped in a drug- ravaged community; a student's humorous personal ad for his ideal girlfriend ('C-cup required!'). A faux leather cover and two beautifully embroidered pages bring the look and feel of the original journals to life. The perfect gift for journalists, aspiring artists, designers, and anyone who can't wait for one of the journals to magically appear in their lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140969 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 212 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780811858564
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Someguy is a San Francisco-based artist and designer. He launched the 1000 Journals Project in 2000.

Customer Reviews

Pure Magic of Creativity
I first learned of "1000 Journals" from TheScreamOnline, an online publication in which I have been lucky enough to place some of my own writing.

Someguy began the "1000 Journals" project in San Francisco. He purchased 1000 blank journals and sent them around the world. He gave them to friends and left them in coffee shops, book stores, and libraries -- and even on park benches. People wrote in them, drew sketches, painted pictures, glued-in photos, and then passed them on. Instructions inside the cover ask that each contributor scan his/her pages and email them to Someguy for posting on the website.

I was fascinated by this project when I first heard about it. The "1000 Journals" project evoked, for me, the pure magic of raw creativity unmediated by middlemen who, all too often, strain out the magic and keep only the commercial or easily digested product.

Like a drill sent deep into earth that hits fresh water, the "1000 Journals" project hit people like you and me, people washing their laundry, sipping brews in cafes, getting over broken hearts, nursing invisible dreams, and then erupted with their creative gifts.

The project's foundation was serendipity. Someguy released his journals to the winds with the faith that something beautiful would result, and it has.

Someguy's process reverberates; to some it is reminiscent of religious faith -- of letting go and letting God.

For others it is a manifestation of the faith an artist requires to begin any project that may, or may not ever, find its audience. For others it brings to mind the process of being a parent. "Your children are not your children," wrote Khalil Gibran. Well, your journal is not your journal; your art is not your art. Someguy's process brings that all home.

TheScreamOnline featured the 1000 Journals project in 2003 and it has since been made into a documentary, which will be coming out soon.

The magazine's editor calls it "one of the most significant and innovative sociological experiments in recent history." Thousands of hands have touch the books, and it truly is a global project. This new book looks just like one of the journals, with its black cover and dimensions. The project certainly has had many incarnations, from the journals themselves, to the website, the magazine feature, the film, and now this book. I highly recommend it!

"Write" on Time!
Unfortunately I came too late participate in the 1000 Journals project. I found myself in awe of the creative rawness of the entries I found on that site and its sister site 1001 Journals. So be inspired by the multisensory spreads (much easier on the eyes that staring at the computer screen). This books is compact, but not too small and it looks like an actual leather bound journal. Entries range from innocent to indulgent, sensual to sublime. All of these artists have created a book that is not only an art book, but a memoir as well. Each entry expresses a piece of the artist's world. I am looking forward to a sequel. Until then, enjoy this book and check the websites:
[...]
Thank you someguy and to all who contributed to the project.

I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT !
...and those were the words I uttered when I removed the journal from the amazon box.

As a lover and collector of books, I have my own sense of 'feel'. Done in the same size as a standard blank book (you can't have enough of these!), it is compact, narrow with heft and feels so good in my hands.

As an artist, the visual appeal is so great that I am writing this review after only fanning through the pages because to absorb it, savor it, will take time.

Loving ephemera, a fan of collage, I think the only thing lacking is the
texture, dimensional quality of the originals although there are a couple of embroidered pages. (I'm sure this will gather a few items as I carry it with me.) I really am not the least disappointed...would love to see, to touch the originals.

I came upon the 1000 Journals Project too late, however, have signed up to participate in 1001 Journals. Still waiting (tap, tap, tap), I feel the need to begin one of my own (thinking altered book) and send it out into the world.

What a marvelous concept--sharing the creative spirit and trusting in strangers that it will be respected, contributed to and returned... representational of art, expression and humankind.

If you have found your way "here" and are reading these reviews, you have an interest on some level. Don't deny yourself a peek into 1000 Journals by having just this one!