"Every letter I write is not a love letter": Inventing sociality with Ray Johnson's postal system

<p>Ina Blom is a Professor at the Institute of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas at the University of Oslo, where she also got her Ph.D (<i>The Cut Through Time. A Version of the Dada/Neo-Dada Repetition</i>. UiO, 1999). Her fields of research and teaching are modernism/avant-garde studies and contemporary art and aesthetics, with a particular focus on media art practices and media aesthetics. A former music critic, she has also worked extensively as an art critic and curator, contributing to <i>Artforum</i>, <i>Parkett</i>, <i>Afterall</i>, <i>Frieze</i> and <i>Texte zur Kunst</i>. Recent books include <i>On the Style Site. Art, Sociality and Television Culture</i>. New York: Sternberg Press, 2007, <i>The Postal Performance of Ray Johnson</i>, Oslo/Kassel/Sittard, 2003 and <i>Joseph Beuys</i>, Oslo: Gyldendal, 2001. She recently contributed to the MACBA exhibition catalogue <i>Ray Johnson. Please Add To & Return</i> with the essay “How to (Not) Answer a Letter: Ray Johnson’s Postal Performance.”</p>