the major of coney island and ray johnson.

Yesterday was all about Coney Island. A once very popular summer attraction, but now abandoned and utterly dodgy. It reminded me a lot about the amusement park in Pinnochio, where children turn into dunkies. It had that nightmare feel to it. As Mark and I strolled along the pier, we met the major of Coney Island. Or at least that's what he said he was, and he looked very happy about it. Then we had an ice cream cone and saw some winter-swimmers rush into the water. During our visit we saw some really cool, grungy stuff. Like a red teddybear sitting on a chair in the middle of an empty field, a trashed shead full of crap, where we found a Foucault book and a sanitary napkin taped to a table. Next to that there was a junkyard full of old school buses, and along the same street was the tivoli area, which was garded by two angry dogs. Then we became hungry and went into a store to ask for directions to a specific pizza restaurant. Outside, on the parking lot, there were a bunch of needles laying around. Probably belonging to the old and very pink hippie man, rocking back and forth as he stared into the unfocused distance. I would not go to Coney Island alone.
Today started quite bad. Had a bad breakfast, felt a bit pissed off, and on top of that it was raining. But as I stepped into the office I forgot about it. Today Peter let me see a documentary called "How to draw a bunny", which is about an artist named Ray Johnson. He was a dadaist and collage artist, who came from the same time period as Warhol and those other cool, pop-artist guys. Johnson, however, avoided that attension as much as he could. He didn't want to become a celebrity and didn't hide behind weird hair or mustaches (Dali) to disguise himself from the fame. He simply didn't let anyone know him completely and was entirely soaked up in his art. A very weird guy indeed, but also very funny and interesting. I realised that so much design work that is out there today steals stuff from his work. Perhaps not intensionally, but there are definately paralells. What this guy was doing 40 years ago, everyone seems to be doing now. Including myself. It was a rather thrilling sensation to realise where my work has its roots and got me thinking about why I do it. I think someday, at some point of my life, I'm gonna go hide from design and images and media for some time. And when I get out from there, just try to start fresh. I don't know a better way to try creating something somewhat original. It's quite impossible with all the design fluff that we're exposed to everyday. Anyway, I'm just saying that I'm starting to catch up on the incredible world of design, and it's not one minute too early.