Ray Johnson exhibit at Craig F. Starr Gallery

 On Thursday of this week, I made the trek to New York City for the day to see the exhibit of early works by Ray Johnson (I live 5 hours from NYC). The exhibit was comprised of 13 pieces, including several early paintings, several "paper strip" collages (which could be characterized as transitions between his painting and collage work), and several collages which foreshadow his later work. Although I did not ask when I was at the gallery (because I didn't count the pieces), I can't help but think that the inclusion of 13 pieces was an acknowledgement of the mythology of the significance of the number 13 surrounding his suicide (alluded to in the documentary "How to Draw a Bunny"). As an aspiring Ray Johnson "scholar", I felt compelled to see this exhibit. And I am surely glad I did! For anyone not aware of this, Johnson destroyed most of his paintings (in Cy Twombly's fireplace) from the early years of his art career. I had previously seen reproductions of some of these paintings in books; but as most people are well-aware, publication reproductions rarely do the original work justice. This was certainly true for the paintings I was able to see (experience) on Thursday. For example, when I had seen "Ladder Whirled" in publications, I got the impression that it was somewhat muddled. In contrast, viewing it in-person kind of blew me away. The detail was technically very obsessive, and aesthetically very impressive.

Likewise, I had seen the piece, "Calm Center" in a number of publications (and on-line), but I was never aware of the heart in the center black square (made by what might have been the butt end of the paint brush).

As if I didn't already appreciate the entire oeuvre of Johnson's creative works, this exhibit reinforced my feelings and provided me with more grist for understanding the complexity and creativity of Ray Johnson. Thank you Frances Beatty for putting this exhibit together at a lovely small gallery (with great lighting, btw!).

Here are some other pieces from the exhibit...

By the way, the piece below is entitled "Ladder World", as opposed to the previous piece (shown above), entitled "Ladder Whirled". Johnson's propensity for puns was evident early in his career (because it was integral to who Johnson was, of course).