Hi Sol
Sol Nte wrote:
> Hi Reed,
>
> Sounds like you had fun at Wexner.
Yeah, I did. Saw old friends and met new. Drank, ate, looked at art,
browsed the bookstore (of course considering that I had no money
at all because the plane ticket had cost me $430 this was a moot point),
did a lot of rubberstamping Saturday, and then sort of a relaxed
dinner on Sunday after the Panel Discussion. Met Judith Hoffberg
(listowner here) and Anna Banana, Alice Ames, Honoria was there
oh the list just goes on and on...
>
>
> You wrote:
> >The mail art show was relegated to a back
> concrete hallway where it was displayed on both
> sides. <
>
> I get the impression you feel that the concurrent Mail Art show was sort of
> pushed aside. If that's the case it's very disappointing since in many ways
>
In my opinion, they could have given the wall dedicated to a massive looming
Barbara
Kruger graphic about art consumerism to the mail art show and that would have
been justice.
> Johnson owes much of his later career to the many mail artists whose
> activity promoted him as an artist. I think Ray Johnson would have just been
> another Pop Artist if it wasn't for the thousands of artists who
> corresponded with him and made mail art into a movement for Johnson to
> preside over.
Well, it did keep him busy- 4 hours per day from what he said in one of the
videos that
was playing.
>
>
> Reed also wrote:
>
> >Mark showed me his mail art archive and some
> collaborations
> he had done with Bern Porter- I preferred that to anything I saw in the
> Ray Johnson show.<
>
> Obviously I haven't seen the show but I do have the DeSalvo book that
> accompanies it. Is the show stuff the same as what's illustrated in the
> book. Or rather what, if anything, did you find lacking in the Johnson show?
Sorry, I don't have the book so I've no answer for you here.
Oh, OK now I remember the high point: the high point for me was the video
of Ray Johnson reading from Walt Whitman with two Reeses Cups
crammed in his mouth. Hilarious gag. (pun intended)
Reed
