12/26/2007

Present as now, Present as gift


On Christmas Eve we were so busy that we didn't have an opportunity to check the mail. I had been looking for gifts in the mailbox almost every single day lately, since I was an online shopper. Getting ready for the next day took all my energy and at that point I thought I had all the gifts. So I let it slide.
Christmas morning, I get the mail and amidst the usual cards and salutations (and bills!) is this strange envelope. On the outside 2 different post cards are attached with tape. They are post cards about Ray Johnson. I glance at the return address which I don't recognize. That's odd.
I open up the envelope and inside I find about 10 different post cards, all which are pictures of Ray Johnson in various places, doing various things. I search the backs of the post cards certain that I will find a written note or some clue of the meaning of these contents. Of course, there is none.

This tickles the living daylights out of me. Here it is, Christmas morning and my first present is this strange packet of special post cards from someone I don't think I know!!And they are about an artist that I study about and admire....
I go back and try to figure out where they came from, how did this happen. I AM a fan of Ray Johnsons, and in fact have recently purchased his movie "how to draw a bunny" on amazon. I await it's arrival! But I still couldn't find a connection. Then I noticed that the return address on my envelope had the same name as the photographer of all these great Ray Johnson pix! His name is on most of the cards that were sent to me. William Wilson himself has sent me a little treasure trove of very cool goodies. I am psyched!! What a crazy thing. I just love intrigue, especially on Christmas day. That's a gift in itself.

The outside of the envelope says, "[mail art] has no history, only a present, which was a pun, of course, on present as now, and present as gift. A pun on my own way of giving information and objects or whatever, in letter form."—Ray Johnson
How bizarre! This packet was also a present to me, in the shape of a Christmas morning present. I love it when things like this happen. I can't wait to respond to it!!

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