54 | FEBRUARY 6 • 2020
Soul
of blessed memory
Celebrated Artist Gone Too Soon
RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
B
y the time he started
college, Jason Daniel
Polan knew he would
become a successful artist.
At 37, the Michigan native
was a valued and prolific
contributor to the New York
art scene with drawings in
the New Yorker, the New
York Times and on the cover
of a Spider-Man comic book.
As an artist, son, broth-
er, uncle and fiercely loyal
friend, he touched numer-
ous lives all over the world.
Jason, who lived in New
York City, died of colon
cancer on Jan. 27, 2020, sur-
rounded by those he loved
most.
In addition to his excep-
tional artistic talent, his
greatest qualities were his
sense of humor, dedication
to hard work and a passion-
ate commitment to be a nice
person.
According to his father,
Jesse Polan, his goal was to
make people happy through
his art and through everyday
interactions with friends,
colleagues and strangers.
“Every encounter was
an opportunity to brighten
someone’
s day,” said long-
time friend and former
University of Michigan
classmate Jake Brege, who
spoke at the funeral service.
Jason was born in
Ann Arbor and grew up
in Franklin, where he
graduated from Groves High
School. His innate aptitude
and love for drawing
began at a young age and
continued to grow.
“His drawing was as
much a part of him as his
heartbeat,” said his mother,
Jane.
His father remembers
fun-filled excursions to flea
markets, sports card, toy
and comic book
shows, and Tiger
games. Cherished
family vacations
included visiting
national parks,
touring Thailand
and Spain, and
watching the
Tigers’
spring
training in
Lakeland, Fla.
“He took his pad
and Uni-ball pen everywhere
he went and drew and drew
and drew,” Jesse said.
Jason attended the
University of Michigan,
where he received two
bachelor’
s degrees, in
anthropology and art and
design. During his student
years, he left his mark in
various places throughout
Ann Arbor, most notably
in an alley off Maynard
Street on the back wall
of the former Borders
bookstore. There, he and
Brege painted a mural
featuring gigantic black
ants against a contrasting
white background, which
still evokes smiles from
passersby.
“When it came to seeing
the fun in life, Jason was a
master. He was a disciple of
fun,” Brege said.
After college, Jason trav-
eled to the Northwest and
Alaska as a volunteer for
Artrain, a nonprofit orga-
nization that brings art to
under-resourced communi-
ties. Once in New York, his
career flourished, largely due
to his unique abili-
ty to take ordinary
people and objects
and turn them into
something special
and relatable. His
drawings of items
in the Museum
of Modern Art
culminated in
The Every Piece of
Art in the Museum
of Modern Art
Book, sold in the museum
gift shop. His drawings were
featured on clothing by
Nike, Levi’
s, Soludos, Kate
Spade, UNIQLO and many
others, in addition to galler-
ies, newspapers, magazines,
books and the Whitney
Museum of American Art.
Despite his success, spend-
ing time with family and
friends remained a priority.
Creating a birth announce-
ment or an invitation to a
child’
s birthday party meant
as much to him as any large
commercial project.
He founded the “Taco Bell
Drawing Club,” which start-
ed with a weekly gathering
of artists at a Manhattan
Taco Bell and expanded to
locations all over the coun-
try.
“He found meaning and
connection in the flotsam of
daily life,” said close friend
Peter Meehan, speaking
at the funeral service. “As
a friend, he was loyal and
present, and he would show
up for you regardless of the
ask.”
In 2008, Jason embarked
on a mission to draw every-
one in New York. The result
was the 2015 book Every
Person in New York, which
depicted 30,000 people in a
diversity of places and situa-
tions — subway stations, city
streets, restaurants and park
benches. He continued the
project as a blog, which he
kept up until weeks before
his death, never losing his
spirit or his sense of humor.
“That was his gift in life
and in art — a keen eye and
a relentless drive to make
your day a little better, with
discipline and dedication
and humble curiosity,” Brege
said.
Jason is survived by his
parents, Jesse and Jane
Polan; sister, Jamie (Kyle)
MacDonald and neph-
ew Jacob MacDonald. He
was the brother of the late
Jennifer Polan and the
grandson of the late Florence
and the late Bernard Polan,
and the late Saul J. and the
late Renee G. Turell.
Interment was at Franklin
Cemetery. In lieu of a dona-
tion, the Polans ask those
who wish to honor Jason’
s
memory to consult their
doctors about colon cancer
screening for themselves
and their family members.
Arrangements by the Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
Jason Polan
COURTESY OF THE POLAN FAMILY