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EXPLORER
Fossils, Freeways and a Great Story to Tell
By BARRY FRIEDMAN, EXPLORER Correspondent
AAPG
At the moment, you can imagine one of
them in a suit, presiding over a board
meeting at the Smithsonian, in his
capacity as director of the National Museum
of Natural Art, in Washington, D.C., while the
other is in a t-shirt, drawing fish or manning
his seafood kiosk in Ketchikan, Alaska.
These two wrote a book together?
The two wrote a
book together.
“Cruisin’ the Fossil
Freeway: An Epoch
Tale of a Scientist
and an Artist on the
Ultimate 5,000-mile
Paleo Road Trio,” is
exactly that – a book
about a journey across
the American West
to explore the fossil
record.
And it’s not just
any book – it’s an
award-winning book,
because the two
authors, Kirk Johnson
(he’s the suit guy) and
Ray Troll (he’s painting
fish) will receive the
AAPG Geosciences in
Johnson
Troll
the Media Award at this year’s AAPG Annual
Convention and Exhibition in Pittsburgh.
The award is presented for notable
journalistic achievement in any medium
that contributes to public understanding
of geology, energy resources or the
technology of oil and gas exploration.
“Ray and I first met in the early ’90s,”
Johnson said. “I loved his art and he loved
the fact that I was a paleontologist who liked
art. We started collaborating in the mid-
1990s and eventually tumbled to the idea of
a road trip book.
“Ray had drawn a picture of an old Volvo
and morphed it into an Evolvo,” Johnson
continued. “We first thought about taking
the road trip in a tricked-out Volvo, but soon
realized that my big blue museum truck was
the right vehicle.”
Blending Art and Science
As to that business of understanding,
Johnson says it’s relatively easy to reach
readers.
Art by Ray Troll
“Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” – it’s not just the name of the painting, it’s also the title of a book
that earned Kirk Johnson and Ray Troll this year’s AAPG Geosciences in the Media Award.
“I find that people learn much faster if
they are laughing,” says the man recently
named to head the 70-person research
and collections division (including
curators, registrars, librarians, archivists,
conservators, technicians, administrators
and assistants) at the Smithsonian and its
$3.5 million annual budget.
“Plus, there is a lot of funny stuff out
there.”
Which is where Troll comes in.
Their book consists of 19-framed color
prints by the artist, and five large-scale
murals.
Some are whimsical, some are stark,
some are hysterical. All are informative.
But the book, like the artist himself,
doesn’t take itself all that seriously.
If you needed further evidence of the
former, note Troll’s website, where he
poses next to a sign that reads, “Danger
… Unstable.” Even better, he also has had
a ratfish named after him (a New Zealand
species called Hydrolagus trolli).
“We’re still getting email from people who
have read the book and have decided to
take their own tours across the fossil west,”
Johnson said.
Why did it resonate so much?
Well, to hear Simon Winchester, author of
“The Professor and the Madman” and “The
Map that Changed the World,” tell it, the
authors have a knack for story telling.
“The two describe Jurassic better than
Spielberg,” Winchester said.
Johnson, ever modest, gives the credit to
his partner.
“The secret to the book is the amazing
art of Alaskan artist Ray Troll,” he says.
“Ray and I collaborated throughout the
project. I wrote and photographed. Ray did
all of the art and much of the photography
as well. His art affects what I write and
what I write affects his art,” he said. “The
collaboration is really fun.”
Troll, who earned an MFA in studio
arts from Washington State University in
1981 and was awarded a gold medal
for “distinction in the natural history arts”
by the Academy of Natural Sciences in
Philadelphia, is known for his mastery at
blending art and science. This synergy, if
you will, culminated in his traveling exhibit,
See Fossil Freeway, page 62
52 MAY 2013 WWW.AAPG.ORG