“Ray had built an exhibit at the Burke Museum in Seattle, and I knew about his stuff,” Johnson said. in an interview with the Empire. “I worked in Seattle, so I always saw Humpies from Hell<\/a> and Spawn Till You Die Die<\/a>. Back in the early ’80s, they had a bunch of Ray Troll T-shirts. I walked into the show, and my head exploded.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “It was like, ‘The T-shirt guy does fossils,” Johnson added with Jeff Spicoli<\/a> affectation. “I was so excited.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Ketchikan artist Ray Troll and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Director Kirk Johnson stand together in the Alaska State Museum near their Troll-drawn portraits. “Cruising’ the Fossil Coastline” is a traveling exhibition inspired by Troll and Johnson’s collaborative book. Johnson was in town Tuesday to talk at the museum. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Their longtime relationship is why both men were at the Alaska State Museum on Tuesday. Johnson gave a speech at the museum since it is the current site of a traveling exhibit inspired by the pair’s collaborative efforts and a trip along most of North America’s western coast.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t [Art and science collide in new Ray Troll exhibition<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Troll and Johnson’s traveling history goes back a couple of decades, too.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t A few years after the pair met, Johnson said he stopped by Ketchikan to talk with Troll and to pitch the inimitable artist and self-described fossil nerd on the idea of traveling to the Amazon Rain Forest.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “So he came to the Amazon, and that was the beginning of the whole thing,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t That “whole thing” is a series of trips around the world and most of North America that produced a pair of books — “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” and “Cruisin’ the Fossil Coastline.”<\/a> The latter served as inspiration for the traveling exhibition that’s been at the state museum since May and will be there through Oct. 19.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Troll said throughout their travels, the two men have easily spent a full 365 days together.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “Easily a year of my life, a solid year of my 65 years,” Troll said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t It’s clear from talking to both Troll and Johnson each man has a high appreciation for the other’s specialty.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I like art, I always have, but I’m not really good at it,” Johnson said in an interview with the Empire. “That’s how I became an arts collector.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Troll said that’s exactly how he views his relationship with science.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Johnson said the blend of art with science “totally essential” to communicating scientific concepts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Ketchikan](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/18670424_web1_Dinos1.jpg\")
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