How to Draw a Bunny

Creative imagery, revealing interviews, and jazzy-bluesy brushes on a snare drum combine to provide a pitch-perfect bohemian-improv ambiance for this illuminating look at the life and work of artist Ray Johnson, a true underground hero of the pop art movement. Perhaps best known for his transitory "motocos" (informal collages that capture a moment in time) and his trademark image of eerie, hollow-eyed, grafitti-esque bunny heads, this contemporary of Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and John Cage left a lasting impression on the art world (if not on the public) when he committed suicide in 1995--in what many of his friends believe was a final performance piece. The rather convincing evidence for this assertion is a thread used as a narrative string to tie together the documentary's imaginative back-and-forth between biographical details, a probing look at Johnson's artistic process, and conversations with the artist's friends and admirers. Among the latter--each of whom provides a piece or two of How to Draw a Bunny's increasingly fascinating puzzle--are wrap-happy installation artist Christo, Benday-dot painter Roy Lichtenstein, curator Judith Malina (who nicely explains Johnson's so-called "nothing" exhibits), and top-dog literary agent Morton Janklow, one of many who enjoyed Johnson's curious habit of dithering over the price of his work as part of his creative process. [Note: DVD extras include a commentary track by director John Walter and producer Andrew Moore that provides many curious asides about Johnson and insights into their filmmaking choices, deleted scenes, a tour of a Ray Johnson museum collection, and stills of 76 works. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine documentary.] (R. Blackwelder)