Cosmic Ray: an open letter to the founder of the New York Correspondence School - letter to the late artist Ray Johnson

Art in America, Oct, 1995 by David Bourdon

Still wondering about your state of mind, I got to thinking about Dionne ("That's What Friends Are For") Warwick and decided to call the Psychic Friends Network. A psychic named Bill took my call, shuffled his Tarot cards, and gave me a reading on you. An astonishing majority of the cards came up negative--Four of Coins, Judgment, Knight of Batons, Three of Batons, Three of Coins, Five of Swords. As Bill interpreted them, you were disappointed, bitter, suffering setbacks, experiencing rupture or discord in your life, unhappy about bad business decisions, trying to atone for something you had done, passing judgment on yourself. Well, that sounds like everyone I know, so I interrupted Bill to ask if your spirit is now at rest. He turned up the Two of Cups (joyous harmony, peaceful resolution) and concluded "Spiritually, Ray is fine." I hope it's true.

Goodbye, Ray, David

Author: David Bourdon is a New York critic. His book, Designing the Earth, will be published by Abrams in November.