Early Ray Johnson, Page in Letter to Arthur Secunda

Just finished up a conference here in Asheville on Black Mountain College, put on by our Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. I got to present on Ray and hang with other Ray enthusiasts (as well as attend and/or chair panels on Olson, Albers, Ben Shahn, MC Richards, Hazel Larsen Archer, etc. etc.) A complete blast. Especially enjoyed meeting and sharing Ray stories with Kate Dempsey. Her talk on "decoding" Ray's work through exploring his early fascination with codes and decoder rings was top notch. Julie Thomson's essay on Albers' influence on Ray both as artist and teacher was also eye-opening. I talked about the way Ray interacted with his early friends (Secunda, Asawa, Prufomo), his first teachers at BMC (Albers, Motherwell) and his cohort in the early 50s Manhattan art scene (Richard Lippold, Ad Reinhardt, etc.) informed his creative process--that he gave his friends, lovers and teachers the gift of his communication, and that act of generosity was vital in his art making. The conference ended today out at the Lake Eden campus. Many of us had just heard Ann Dunn talk on Hazel Larsen Archer's photos of BMC, and seen a stirring slide-show of her work, so were ready to commune with the (as we imagined) empty and ghosted campus. But a church BBQ was underway, and the campus was brimming with families, tacky music and zip-lining maniacs.

Fitting in a way, and in the lovely afternoon sun about 50 odds and ends BMC enthusiasts ended up at the old study building, gawking quietly at the history leaking out of the old building, grand Black Mountains behind.