Ray Johnson
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Ray Edward Johnson (1927-1995) The eccentric, enigmatic figure often credited as the founder of the New York Correspondence School and as a key influence in the formation of the Mail art movement.
"The contents is the contents; the stamp are the stamp; the address are the address. It is very clear your question 'Is this an art form' is the art form." - Ray Johnson [link]
Early Years and Education
Ray Edward Johnson was born October 16th 1927, in Detroit, Michigan. The child of Finnish immigrants, Johnson started his education in a primarily working class community. Johnson attended Cass Tech, an occupational high school, where he received the beginnings of a classical arts education. Upon graduation, Johnson found himself in a small North Carolina town, attending Black Mountain College an institution that would soon be recognized as the seat of a cultural awakening. With a board of directors consisting of legendary thinkers among the likes of Albert Einstein and William Carlos Williams and a faculty that boasted masters like Willem de Kooning and John Cage, Ray Johnson found himself in company of inspirational giants.
Work
After leaving Black Mountain in 1948, Johnson made his way into the New York art scene. Channeling traditional abstract methods, using Dadaist collage as one of his inspirations, Johnson began creating hundreds of small pieces. Made up primarily of ink drawings, clippings and other found ephermera, he called these constructs moticos."I've got a big pile of things at home which will make moticos. They're really collages - paste-ups of pictures and pieces of paper, and so on - but that sounds too much like what they really are, so I call them moticos. It's a good word because it's both singular and plural and you can pronounce it how you like. However I'm going to get a new word soon." - Ray Johnson
Due to the prolific nature of his work, and his general contempt for the art institution, Johnson often chose to ignore gallery requests for shows and instead chose a much more accessible form of distribution. Johnson began to mail his art. The work Johnson chose to publicly show was represented by Richard L. Feigen, although as with many of his asscociates, Johnson appears to have had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the dealer.
Death
After a brutal mugging and his contemporary Andy Warhol's assault by Valerie Solanas, Johnson left the city for a small town in upstate New York. Here he remained for sometime, continuing his work in solitude. On January 13, 1995 Ray Johnson's body was found floating in a small cove in Sag Harbor, NY. Much like his life, little is known about the circumstances of his death. Those who knew him have often quoted that his suicide was his final performance or Nothing as he called his pieces.External links
- [Extensive Academic Essay on Ray Johnson and Mail Art]
- [Correspondence Art of Ray Johnson]
- [Illustrated biography of artist Ray Johnson.]
Film
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