Johnny Cash visual tribute launches on line

The interactive website celebrates the February release of "American VI: Ain't No Grave," Cash's final studio recording, produced by Rick Rubin. The Johnny Cash Project sets out to engage fans in the creation of an ever-evolving music video for the title track of the album.

Project creator Chris Milk "told me about this great art project he had in mind, but needed an iconic artist for it to work," said Rick Rubin. "His description of it sounded so new and unusual, that I was interested just to get to see it! While I think he had originally intended to work with a living artist, I suggested Johnny Cash; he thought about it and realized that Johnny's passing changed the meaning of the project for the better, and The Johnny Cash Project was born."

The goal is to empower fans to create a living portrait and tribute to Cash that will never be viewed the same way twice. The web site offers a single image template, and using a custom drawing tool, invites visitors to share their visions of Cash by designing their own frames, which will then be strung together and played in sequence over the song. The portraits create an ever-evolving homage to Cash.

The site soft-launched three weeks ago, and has been populated by talented artists and eager Johnny Cash fans with no publicity at all. It has received nearly 75,000 visitors from 150 countries.

"Johnny's spirit truly does live on - not just through his musical catalog - but in the hearts of all the people around the world he has touched so deeply," said the project's director Milk. "The Johnny Cash Project is the visual manifestation of all that love coming together, not just to produce a music video, but to show how Johnny's enduring spirit continues living on inside of all of us."

"American VI: Ain't No Grave," released on February 26, is the sixth and final installment of Johnny Cash's critically acclaimed American Recordings album series.