Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink drawing by Ray Johnson. It dates from 1961 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled, produced in 1961, is a work by Ray Johnson that combines printed paper, ink, and metallic string adhered to a board. Classified as a drawing, the piece is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Its composition presents a close‑up portrait of a figure wearing a black hat, against a plain, light‑colored background.
Subject & Meaning
The central image depicts a face beneath a black hat, upon which a small brown bottle is perched, its neck bound with a red string. The juxtaposition of the bottle—clearly an added element—creates a playful, almost absurdist gesture, inviting viewers to consider the tension between photographic realism and inserted object.
Technique & Style
Johnson employs a mixed‑media approach, printing a photographic image onto paper and then augmenting it with ink and a metallic string. The added bottle is affixed after the print is made, blurring the line between two‑dimensional image and three‑dimensional assemblage, a hallmark of his experimental drawing practice.
History & Provenance
Created in the early 1960s, the work entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings, where it remains on view. Its date, “Feb. 22nd,” and the artist’s initials are inscribed in the lower corner, providing a personal timestamp that anchors the piece within Johnson’s prolific output of that period.
Context
The piece reflects Johnson’s interest in mail art and the broader 1960s avant‑garde movement that challenged conventional media boundaries. By integrating everyday objects into a printed image, the work dialogues with contemporaneous experiments in collage, assemblage, and conceptual art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as "New York's most…
