Ray Johnson

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Ray Johnson

American, (1927–1995)

EDUCATION

Black Mountain College

BIOGRAPHY

Ray Johnson was an extremely innovative and prolific artist who worked across a range of media. His mode of expression does not fit neatly in the confines of any one stylistic category, though certainly shows the influence of pop art and abstraction. Born in Detroit, Johnson attended Cass Technical High School and the Detroit Art Institute before he set off to study art at Black Mountain College in 1945. Johnson studied closely with Josef Albers and preferred his disciplined approach to teaching. His worked primarily on geometric paintings during this period. The symbols and grids contained in these paintings have been interpreted by curator Ruth Erickson as precursors to his later and better-known work in collage and print media that developed when he moved to New York after BMC.1 Much of Johnson’s work involved movement or distribution of print materials through performance measures or the subnetworks of the United States Postal Service. His approach to collage and his distinctly personal stylistic interventions are summed up by his close friend Bill Wilson, “Ray was not determined or governed by the determining tone of a person, a book, a film or a painting: he took a piece from the whole and showed that something else existed in that piece beside what had been obvious when it was part of the whole.” Johnson was known to chop up images and words and arrange them on flat surfaces to produce new associations or meaning. Ray Johnson committed suicide in 1995.

[source: Corey Loftus, fall 2021 curatorial fellow]

Artist Objects

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Image of Bobby - when are we going to paint the Albers' floors and walls? - Johnson

Bobby - when are we going to paint the Albers' floors and walls? - Johnson

2012.26.028

Image of Card to "Bobby Dreier" from BMC to Bolton Landing, NY, July 12, 1947

Card to "Bobby Dreier" from BMC to Bolton Landing, NY, July 12, 1947

2012.26.030

Image of Drawing on a Newspaper Clipping

Drawing on a Newspaper Clipping

2012.26.143.02

Image of Enclosure from Ray Johnson to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947, Image of St. Mark in Venice

Enclosure from Ray Johnson to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947, Image of St. Mark in Venice

2012.26.129.03

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City

2012.26.136.02

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 10, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 10, 1947

2012.26.136.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 14, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 14, 1947

2012.26.142.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 17, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 17, 1947

2012.26.140.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 21, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 21, 1947

2012.26.143.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 24, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 24, 1947

2012.26.141.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 12, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 12, 1947

2012.26.146.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 14, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 14, 1947

2012.26.147.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 5, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 5, 1947

2012.26.138.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 7, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 7, 1947

2012.26.145.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 8, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine Halper, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 8, 1947

2012.26.135.01

Image of Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947

Envelope from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947

2012.26.129.01

Image of Heart Shaped Note from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper

Heart Shaped Note from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper

2012.26.142.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper

2012.26.130

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 1 & 2)

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 1 & 2)

2012.26.140.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 3 & 4)

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 3 & 4)

2012.26.140.03

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 5 & 6)

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper (pg. 5 & 6)

2012.26.140.04

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark February 10, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark February 10, 1947

2012.26.136.03

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark February 24, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark February 24, 1947

2012.26.141.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 12, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 12, 1947

2012.26.146.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 14, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 14, 1947

2012.26.147.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 5, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 5, 1947

2012.26.138.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 7, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 7, 1947

2012.26.145.03

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 8, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson to Lorna Halper, postmark March 8, 1947

2012.26.135.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Baline, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Baline, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark March 4, 1947

2012.26.129.02

Image of Letter from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 18, 1947

Letter from Ray Johnson, Black Mountain College, to Lorna Blaine, 101 East 85th Street, New York City, postmark February 18, 1947

2012.26.137

Image of Newspaper clipping of Mondrian

Newspaper clipping of Mondrian

2012.26.141.03

Image of Photograph of a drawing (by Ray Johnson)

Photograph of a drawing (by Ray Johnson)

2012.26.133

Image of Photograph of Ray Johnson next to a drawing

Photograph of Ray Johnson next to a drawing

2012.26.134

Image of Postcard of a pendant from the Met to Lorna Blaine Halper

Postcard of a pendant from the Met to Lorna Blaine Halper

2012.26.139

Image of The Emperor Jones watercolor

The Emperor Jones watercolor

2012.26.140.06

Image of Untitled (Detached Corner)

Untitled (Detached Corner)

2005.16.01.29

Image of Untitled watercolor

Untitled watercolor

2012.26.140.05

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