First, you draw a circle, and then you start to fill in the details, adding ears, eyes, a nose and a mouth.
That’s how Ray Johnson drew a bunny, and that’s also how filmmaker John Walter fashions his documentary, “How to Draw a Bunny,” about the late, enigmatic artist.
Walter’s film begins with an interview with the police officer in charge of the investigation into Johnson’s suicide in January 1995, when his body turned up in the waters off Sag Harbor, Long Island. From there, the film moves steadily away from his suicide to discuss Johnson’s youth, his education and his immersion into the avant-garde scene in New York City. Ultimately, the film winds back around to conclude with his suicide, which many agree was his final work of art: tragic, morbid and misunderstood.
As the film meanders through interviews with Johnson’s friends, a secondary narrative emerges, created as pop art notables Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close, Judith Malina, Christo and Jeanne-Claude share their memories – a particularly interesting participant from both a pop art and a film perspective is Billy Name, hair-trimmer extraordinaire and subject of Warhol’s “Haircut” films. In these interviews, it becomes increasingly apparent that no matter how well or how long someone knew Johnson, he remained essentially closedoff to people, living his life as another one of his works of art. He took his performance art to an extent that precluded non-performative moments.
Walter’s editing perfectly suits his subject matter, and the film itself takes on a form in the tradition of Johnson’s still collages. Furthermore, Walter manages to create editing and shot motifs tailored to the subjects being interviewed.
One example of this is an interview with Johnson’s agent, who often had to deal with the repercussions of Johnson’s antics. He once received the bill for the rental of a helicopter used by Johnson to drop sixty foot-long hot dogs on artists having an avant-garde fest near Manhattan. This is cut with brief shots and sound bridges to create a hectic atmosphere demonstrative of someone with business constantly demanding his attention.
On the other hand, the investigating police officer is held in a medium shot from a slightly low-angle with long takes, painting him as composed and authoritative.
For fans of Johnson and the uninitiated alike, “How to Draw a Bunny” is a wonderful character portrait of someone whose life refused typical portraiture. Collage portraits Johnson himself made of others reveals this tendency. The outline of the person is there, but the detail areas are filled in with other people’s stories and relics of the culture-at-large, as though the subject exists through the impressions he made and received during his life.
Screenings begin tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater. Tickets cost $6 for the general public and $4 for students, Wexner Center members and senior citizens.
