Art Metropole

#04885

A Book About A Book About Death

Artist

Ray Johnson

Date

2011

Publisher

Kunstverein Publishing

Format

Catalogues

Details

Softcover

ISBN

978-94-90629-01-4

Size

16 × 20 × 0.5 cm

Length

58 

Description

Ray Johnson wrote poetic texts and letters and integrated language and a unique system of cryptic signs into his work. Considered by many the ‘father of Mail Art’, as early as 1953 Johnson began sending highly conceptual images/texts to friends, often encouraging the recipient to ‘add to’ the work, or ‘please send to’ someone else, or ‘return to Ray Johnson’. Forming the ‘New York Correspondence School’ in 1962, Johnson established an enormous network of participants throughout the world — one that remains active even after his death. Between 1963 and 1965, Ray Johnson printed thirteen pages of his book about death with the Pernet Printing Company, 120 Lexington Avenue at 28th Street. His title, which designated the thirteen unbound pages as a book, is A Book about Death, yet also A Boop about Death and A Boom about Death.

In “A Book About A Book About Death” close friend and author Bill Wilson elaborates on each of the pages of “A Book about Death”.

This book accompanied the exhibition ‘A Book About A Book About Death’ at Kunstverein Amsterdam December 2009 to January 2010.

Edition of 500

APC

1.