The
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo
presents
the exhibition
RAY
JOHNSON. The Name of the Game (11.01-09.03)
Ray
Johnson (1927-1995) is perhaps best known for his use of the postal service
as an artistic medium, which led him to develop a network of correspondents
that grew into what is today known as the mail art network. This exhibition
takes as its starting point the particular focus on proper names that run
through all of Johnson’s postal activities. On the one hand the focus on
names reflects the reality of a postal system that structures the world
as a network of addressable individuals. On the other hand, his naming
games serve to question the notions of communication and addressability
that informs not only the postal system per se, but a whole modern culture
shaped by the terms of this system. The exhibition, which contains a lot
of material that has not been exhibited previously, is curated by Ina Blom
. After Oslo, the exhibition will move on to the Museum Fridericianum Kassel,
Germany (opening March 29) and the Museum Het Domein Sittard, The Netherlands
(opening May 31).
The
Name of the Game. Ray Johnson's Postal Performance is the title of
the 120-page book published on the occasion of this exhibition. It contains
an essay by Ina Blom, and a number of previously unpublished early texts
by Ray Johnson, in addition to mailings and other visual and textual material.
It may be ordered (EUR 22/£ 24 + postage EUR 8/$ 8) from the museum's
bookshop at The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bankplassen 4, Box
8191 Dep, N-0034 Oslo, Norway, or by e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Image:
Ray Johnson, Untitled: Dear Marilyn Monroe, To Chuck 1980-1994, Estate
of Ray Johnson, courtesy of Richard L. Feigen & Co.)
|
