Ray Johnson

        I don't even know how to begin discussing the genius that was Ray Johnson, and this post would be much better left to someone who knows more about him (a couple people very close to me hold Johnson very close to them), so I'm going to focus on few specific aspects of Johnson and his work, because I do think that it is important that I address him as someone who has inspired me. For the greater picture, I can't express enough how much I believe everyone (artist or not) should watch the documentary How to Draw a Bunny, which focuses on Johnson's life, death, and work.
        *note: the links in the following paragraph are to excerpts from How to Draw a Bunny
        Johnson, who is most well known for his collage work, basically lived his life as performance (some speculate, including his mysterious suicide in 1995). He has been hailed the "most famous unknown artist", and not only made really awesome work, but was a really intriguing and genuinely quirky character. Though he is described as a relative unknown, it is more a reference to the way many people did not realize exactly how prolific he was until his death, at which point thousands of works were found, and also because of the way he has been somewhat of a cult gem in contemporary art history. His work is owned by various museums, including the MoMA and he was friendly with many pop figures at the time, including the much more widely recognized Andy Warhol.

“Mail Art has no history, only a present” - Ray Johnson

        I've been thinking about Johnson a lot lately, because I'm hoping to embark on some sort of mail art project, and Johnson has often be considered the father of mail art (which he began in the 1950s). The above quote greatly characterizes Johnson and his work; a playful pun (present meaning gift) but also a statement that can be taken more seriously and analyzed in the greater contexts of the evolving art world.
        I think what Johnson started with his mail art was so important, a sense of community and collaboration in art, wanting to give without some sort of expectation that something would be returned. It is this sense of community that art can bring about that is so important to me, and the reasons why I would like to start creating and exchanging mail art amongst my many creative friends. Ray Johnson, as much of an oddball as he may have been, totally knew what was up.

Again, cannot emphasize enough how I think everyone should see How to Draw a Bunny, but here are some other Johnson sources as well:
(also note that the work I posted only represents his mail art, definitely try to get a look at the rest of his body of work, even if you just google him)

cool short essay on Johnson and mail art
source for a good number of his mail art images (difficult website to navigate, but click basically any link and an image will come up)
official website of the estate of Ray Johnson (nice bio, images, general info)
Ray Johnson: Correspondences (if you have $70 floating around)




images: various sources, including artpool.hu