This entertaining documentary by John Walter retraces the path of New York artist Ray Johnson, who worked in collage, mail art, and other Dadaist notions. Here, some of his friends and artistic colleagues, such as Chuck Close, Richard Feigen, James Rosenquist, and Christo tell their... [More]

This entertaining documentary by John Walter retraces the path of New York artist Ray Johnson, who worked in collage, mail art, and other Dadaist notions. Here, some of his friends and artistic colleagues, such as Chuck Close, Richard Feigen, James Rosenquist, and Christo tell their stories of the late Johnson, who died unexpectedly in 1995. The film starts and ends with Johnson's death, as described by the Sag Harbor, Long Island policeman who conducted the investigation. Both the policeman and Johnson's friends agree that his drowning seemed to be premeditated and intentional, while fellow artists saw his death as the crowning performance of his artistic career. In stories told by his colleagues, Johnson is described as a total enigma. Everybody knew him, but nobody knew him well. He kept a distance from everybody and everything and that added to his mystique. To many of his friends, even this was part of his art. Fascinating and hilarious stories of his performances, his collage works, his process of selling art, and his uniquely strange approach to living life color the film with bright and interesting comedy. Meanwhile Johnson's art is given a long-awaited platform in the film, showing his prolific and influential body of work, most of which was not seen until after his death. [Less]