The exhibition on view extends a component of Johnson’s mail art practice in which he distributed “templates” with the instructions “Please Add To.” The artist would send these photocopies of his original drawings en masse via USPS, instructing recipients to “Return To Ray Johnson” or forward to someone else entirely. Upon return of work, Johnson would typically photocopy and recirculate the altered versions or add them to his archive.
As a special homage to Johnson in the year of the 20th anniversary of his passing, several of the artist’s mail art “templates” were placed back into circulation as a call to action for the next generation of Johnson enthusiasts. Performa asked all participants to simply “Please Add To and Return To.”