How to Draw a Bunny—A closer look at Ray J.

I watched How to Draw a Bunny last night on Ovation. I have been wanting to see this flick forever, it seems. I am too cheap to go and buy the vid, and when I saw it was going to air on TV, I had a rare moment and sat in front of the brainwashing machine for a couple of hours and watched.

I have read a lot about Ray Johnson, and his intrigue factor grows instead of wanes as I learn more about him! The clips in the movie were invaluable to cluing me in on the type of person he really was. I felt there was something uneasy about him, as tho probably he had one up on you all the time. His intellect seemed extraordinarily high, since his humor and outlook on life were so unique.


I found myself envying his position in time, living in NYC and hanging out with the art crowd, living poor and living rich all at the same time. It must have been such a great time. (easy for me to say, they were poor as hell and barely ate.) I wonder how our times compare! (I am poor as hell, not much has changed) As I watched the movie, I thought about how odd he seemed, how even talking about him seemed to cause a bit of frustration from his peers...I don't live near a city, so palling around with famous art folk isn't in my picture. However, I do have my little network of unique and creative friends and I thank them for allowing me the freedom to be a weirdo! The social life wasn't really Ray's thing, and he became more and more reclusive the older he got.
For some strange reason, I always feel the need to see what others are doing, and once I see how bizarre people can be, it releases me somehow and I get the freedom to do what I want, to accept the weirdo that I am. It's silly and I am foolish, I don't know why I feel I need social approval! It aint' gonna happen! I will always feel a bit odd, I will always not fit in, for me it is a useless approach to things.

I watched a documentary on Andy Warhol the other night, also on Ovation. I was never a big fan, and somehow felt Warhol was cheating by making prints. (i have a different opinion now) I have liked his pieces, graphically, but I never understood him. Now I understand how he also was odd. He acted upon this in a different way tho, hanging out with everyone and being the center of parties, the friend of celebrities, the means to a damn good time. He was far from reclusive. They knew each other and hung out, and that's even more crazy. Each of them was unique and genius enough, together they were probably quite intimidating and even devastating!!!
I recommend you see this movie if you have a chance. It's huge to understand the depth of how these people LIVED their art. They WERE the art.