SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY: Ray Johnson, Dick Higgins and the making of THE PAPER SNAKE

June 5 – August 22, 2015
Curated by Michael Von Uchtrup
Selected as a Critic’s Pick by ARTFORUM!
Lost for decades, the production materials from this innovative compendium of Ray Johnson’s mail art were only recently rediscovered, in time for the book’s re-publication and the 50th anniversary of its original 1965 release. Lively, quirky, often comic, the texts and drawings that meander among the book’s pages provide an intimate look at the early work of Ray Johnson (1927-1995) through the eyes of Johnson’s friend Dick Higgins (1938-1998), one of the Fluxus movement’s impresarios and the founder of the groundbreaking Something Else Press. The exhibition will also include collages by Ray Johnson, many of which have never before been exhibited. View the full-color program guide. 

 

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Related Programming

PRESENTATION
Saturday, June 6, 2:00 p.m.
Snakes Escape – with Michael von Uchtrup + Julie J. Thomson, moderated by Brian E. Butler
A conversation between two Ray Johnson scholars looking at this enigmatic artist’s career with a particular emphasis on the evolution and making of The Paper Snake and his other books.
Free BMCM+AC members + students w/ID / $5 non-members

PRESENTATION
Wednesday, June 10, 7:30 p.m.
The Founding of the Farm at Black Mountain College
David Silver, associate professor of media studies, environmental studies, and urban agriculture at the University of San Francisco, will present a definitive history of the founding of the farm at Black Mountain College. Free Admission

POETRY READING
Thursday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.
Poets Katherine Soniat and Kathryn Stripling Byer will read from their latest book projects, The GoodBye Animals and The Vishnu Bird. $5 BMCM+AC members & students w/ID / $8 for non-members

PERFORMANCE
Friday, July 3, 8:00 p.m.
Informed by a three year correspondence, in the arm of flowers, is an interdisciplinary performance by Megan Ransmeier and Julia Rich. Two women inhabit a mythic landscape of sand and ice, inviting inclusive spectrums of connection through voice, body, and object relations. $8 for BMCM+AC members + students w/ID / $10 non-members

WORKSHOP
Sunday, July 12, 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Image Speak taught by Lynn Underwood, expressive arts educator and coach. This workshop will focus on process as opposed to product, creating images (including collage and mandala) with a variety of media and then giving each image a voice through writing. Call 828-350-8484 to register. $35 BMCM+AC members + students w/ID / $45 non-members

FILM SCREENING
Thursday, August 20, 7:30 p.m.
How to Draw a Bunny. John Walter and Andrew Moore’s award-winning documentary tells the story of collage artist Ray Johnson, whose death was cloaked in mystery and whose life and art remain enigmatic. A real-life art mystery tale. 
$5 BMCM+AC members & students w/ID / $8 for non-members

Image Citation: Ray Johnson, Red Snakes, c. 1980s. (c) The Ray Johnson Estate, Courtesy Richard L. Feigen & Co