Photography - Ray Johnson Estate

Ray Johnson, Untitled, circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in.

"Johnson predicted the growing fuzziness between the realms of photography and IRL (in real life) — from snapshots to social media — suggesting that the relationship between them is porous but also ripe for creative intervention."

- Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 2022

Ray Johnson stopped exhibiting in 1991, but his output did not diminish. In 1992–1994, he used 137 disposable cameras to create a large body of work that is only just coming to light. Staging his collages in settings near his home in Locust Valley, Long Island—parking lots, sidewalks, beaches, cemeteries—he made photographs that pull the world of everyday “real life” into his art. In his “new career as a photographer,” Johnson began making collages in a new, larger format that made them more effective players in his camera tableaux. The vast archive he left behind at his death included over three thousand of the late photographs. These photographs feature many images drawn from photography's historical canon, including Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Duane Michals, Richard Avedon, Lee Friedlander and others and were shown in 2022 at the Morgan Library & Museum in the groundbreaking exhibition Please Send to Real Life: Ray Johnson Photographs curated by Joel Smith.

Slideshow Thumbnails

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (1955 Moticos Photographs from Ladder),&nbsp;January 1992,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (1955 Moticos Photographs from Ladder), January 1992, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Self Portrait in Star),&nbsp;circa 1992-94,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait in Star), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Cat and ONLY YOU), December 31, 1994,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Cat and ONLY YOU), December 31, 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Moticos and Shadows in the House), October 10, 1994,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Moticos and Shadows in the House), October 10, 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (Arthur Rimbaud and Ray Johnson at Clothing Drop), Winter 1992,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Arthur Rimbaud and Ray Johnson at Clothing Drop), Winter 1992, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled (No Exit sign by Ray Johnson), Spring 1992,&nbsp;Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (No Exit sign by Ray Johnson), Spring 1992, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Outdoor Movie Show on Dumpster), May 18, 1993, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Ray Johnson with Please Send to Real Life and Camera in Mirror), December 23, 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Oscar Mayer Weiner in Mailbox), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait with Helmet), circa 1993, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Bill with Ocean), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Bill with Ocean), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait with Horseshoe Crab), September 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait with Multiple Ray Johnsons), June 1993, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait with Duane Michals), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 x 4 inches, Collection of The Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Self Portrait), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Three Ray Johnson Movie Stars in Chairs), December 28, 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Three Ray Johnson Movie Stars in Chairs), December 28, 1994, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Movie Stars with Volkswagen), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library &amp; Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Movie Stars with Volkswagen), circa 1992-94, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library & Museum

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Ronald McDonald with Tina Brown Movie Star), March 1993, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 &times; 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library &amp; MuseumNovember 1994

Ray Johnson, Untitled (Ronald McDonald with Tina Brown Movie Star), March 1993, Commercially processed chromogenic print, 6 × 4 in., Collection of the Morgan Library & MuseumNovember 1994