Gregory Corso Poem

1959

Not on view

A painterly surface with thin cardboard strips spread across the panel creating a subtle grid pattern, Gregory Corso Poem is an intricate work by Ray Johnson. "Tesserae" describe the strips of cardboard that create his layered surfaces. Johnson was a student at Black Mountain College during the mid-1940s under the guidance of Josef Albers and began making these cardboard works soon after his arrival in New York in 1948. His work epitomizes postwar artists’ adoption and reinterpretation of the collage medium. Johnson represents an important phase in postwar American art between the assemblages of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg and the Pop images of Andy Warhol. Gregory Corso was a New York poet and a member of the Beat circle during the 1950s. Johnson, aware of the current practices of his contemporaries, many of them personal friends or acquaintances, often referenced them in his work.

Artwork Details

Title: Gregory Corso Poem
Artist: Ray Johnson (American, Detroit, Michigan 1927–1995 Sag Harbor, New York)
Date: 1959
Medium: Collage of cut and pasted papers and opaque watercolor on board
Dimensions: 9 3/16 × 7 5/16 in. (23.3 × 18.5 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020
Object Number: 2021.54.23
Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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The Paper Snake

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Head Neck, Ray Johnson American, Collage of cut and torn painted and printed papers on board mounted to board — Head Neck
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Balshazzar's Feast (John Martin), Ray Johnson American, Wood, paint, and metal — Balshazzar's Feast (John Martin)
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Henry Fonda Foot Dollar Bill, Ray Johnson American, Collage of ink, cut printed papers, boards, matte opaque paint, and dollar bills on board — Henry Fonda Foot Dollar Bill
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Autumn Painting, Ray Johnson American, Collage of paper boards with crayon, opaque paint, and metallic paint on paper board panel — Autumn Painting
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