RECEIVED: Ray Johnson NY Correspondence School Icons from Richard Canard (Karmadale, Illusion, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

 

Mail-art by IUOMA member Richard Canard (Karmadale (Carbondale), Illusion (Illinois), USA (USA)

 

August 17, 2011 - The revered and enigmatic Richard Carnard, true disciple of Ray Johnson's eternal network, sent a second round of mail-art to me that I find not only thrilling but deeply moving.  Above is a chart I had not seen before, doubling as an add-and-pass, which is associated with the Book About Death project. (I could never in good conscience add my name to this list, Richard. "I'm not worthy.")

 

This family tree charts people "who were aesthetic symbols &/or members of [Ray Johnson's] New York Correspondence School." I might just as well call it a personal list of my own cultural heroes (only there's a bunch of poets I'd add). Many of us at the IUOMA engage in discussions about figures we admire, often incorporating them in our mail-art. I am struck how often our dialog touches upon these New York Correspondence School icons. Mail-artists across generations seem to be on the same page, although there are new names to add post-Ray.

 

Richard Canard also cerealized me - ce-real-ism. Kids today eagerly await their fake or real John M. Bennett and Diane Keys grocery lists. But cereal box mail-art is also a staple. I only recently became aware of this. Grigori Antonin (Minnesota, USA) and Batgirl (New York, USA), both orthodox Johnsonians, have sent me pieces of cereal boxes. Karen Champlin (Illinois, USA) remembers receiving cereal boxes from the original NY Correspondence School when, of course, she was very, very young. Here is the piece from Richard Canard:

 

 

I am a big fan of Richard Canard's correspondence and know he is capable of serious wordplay. I think you will find some on the cut-out above.

 

Richard Canard is also engaged in the Literary Division of the network: asemics, concrete, haptic and vispo. The asemic/haptic poem (aluminum drink can crushed by car tire) he sent to Geof Huth (NY, USA) last fall and Geof's wonderful response is already a legend among the fluXerati. Also included in this package with the cereal box is this (I consider it) visual poem. A total treasure, IMHO:

 

The faded LIFE magazine logo is beautiful and, of course, did not scan well. The Ray Johnson signature (real or fake? who knows?) on a popsicle stick adds a haptic dimension. Just a few days ago, Bifidus Jones (Minnesota, USA) posted a blog of Richard Canard's work. I commented to Bifidus that some contend Ray Johnson invented popart and Andy Warhol rode it into the sunset. IF Richard Canard's work (while highly original) represents the core Ray Johnson strain in mail-art, THEN I can definitely see the popart origins and continuity on this work that puts so much emphasis on materials that include cereal boxes, popsicle sticks, and magazine logos - the studied debris of mass culture. Here is the reverse side:

 

A wonderful mail-art package!!! Thank you - only: what to send to Richard Canard? 

 

 

[De Villo Sloan]

My thoughts were inspired in part on the RC blog by Bifidus. OK, think I know how to do a trans-blog link:

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/received-from-richard-...

Skybridge, thank you for the great link to Book About Death - an amazing project!

Yip Cheryl, Jonathan Williams was a publisher, Jargon Society, connected to Black Mt. He mostly stayed in North Carolina. He must have met RJ through BMC.

[cheryl penn]

"I listened to mountain people for over a thousand miles and I really heard some amazing stuff. And I left it pretty much as I heard it. I didn’t have to do anything but organize a little bit, crystallize it, you know. That’s the thing I love about found material, you wake it up, you “make” it into something". Jonathan Williams.

[Bifidus Jones]

It's wonderful to be able to look at the work of an old school rock star--not only for what has gone on before, but for the inspiration of what is yet to come. Also, when I look at Richard's work, I am humbled by his ability to convey a philosophy through one fraction of the whole. That popsicle stick, for example. It used to have a treat frozen onto it, now it's gone. Consumed or melted, who knows. That's life. Great blog, De Villo. Thanks for posting.

[De Villo Sloan]

Poster for the Book About Death Show

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks, Marie. RC just happened to provide this great material that has SO much synchronicity with other work and blogs - like Marilyn Munroe, as I mentioned, and yes! popping and popsicle sticks. The LIFE piece is indeed gorgeous. And, of course, there is a Ray Lives Cult, claiming he's still alive because he faked his own death so many times.

[Marie Wintzer]

Glad you're back on the blogging scene, DVS! Great blog.

The LIFE piece is wonderful, and, I think, we might have the first piece of evidence that Ray Johnson sometimes popped :-))

Anyway...

Now I have to send you a jap cereal box.

[De Villo Sloan]

Glad you saw this, Cheryl. Yes, we have cross-blog dialog here. I noticed Marilyn Munroe was at the top of the list. Of course, there is great discussion about her in Marie's "Heated Heart" blog about your work.

 

I was also surprised to see names associated with the Correspondence School such as Jackson MacLow and relatively obscure Black Mt. figures like Jonathan Williams along with better-knowns like John Cage.

 

Book About Death is a big project, but I don't know much about it. Maybe someone can explain.

[cheryl penn]

Very good to see you blogging again DVS - always such a good read.  Marilyn again... The Book of the Dead versus A Book About Death - interesting.