Awesome of the Day: The Johnny Cash Project

On Sept. 12, 2003, the world lost Johnny Cash to complications from diabetes. But the world didn’t really lose Johnny Cash, and the continued popularity of his music proves that. Not only have we seen a big-name Oscar-nominated film influenced by Cash’s life, but we’ve also received his final recordings via American VI: Ain’t No Grave, which was released in February.

The Johnny Cash Project was inspired by that posthumous release. According to the developer, “the idea was to build a platform where everyone would be able to draw a frame for the music video for one of the tunes.” Aptly, the tune chosen is the titular and somewhat haunting “Ain’t No Grave.”

The idea is this: each contributor draws a single frame, any frame, which is then strung together with over a thousand others to create a video with a unique look and feel. The sketchy portrayal of Johnny Cash in the Midwestern countryside is full of near-subliminal messages, personal feeling and great art – all from people like you and me.

The video can be presented in a number of ways: the highest rated frames (default), most recent frames, pointillism, realism and other categories. After watching the video through, you can click on the frames individually (in a timeline at the bottom of the page) and rate them. Any visitor to the site can also contribute with a frame drawing of their own.

What an awesome, lasting and constantly-changing tribute to a monumental musician.

Watch the video of highest-ranking frames below: