Ray Johnson 1927-1995
Ray at Hofstra (1987)
January 3, 1987
111 min. 51 sec.
Black & White and also Color
Taped: Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, with Nadine Palumbo


Equipment: Panasonic VHS recorder, Panasonic video camera, Akai video processor

Days after discussing videotaping to Ray at the Islip Museum Director Madeline Burnside’s New Yearʼs Party, Ray, Nadine and I got together at Hofstra University where I was teaching at the time. We began with the recording of Rayʼs artworks. Ray was immediately interested in the video process. Events led to recording Rayʼs performances and his telling of interesting information. His recollection of Guy Trebay’s Village Voice article stands out. At the end of the afternoon we were enthusiastic about doing future recordings.
(Artworks displayed on the classroom walls were not created by Ray.)