Mail-art by Bob Ray (Ocracoke, North Carolina, USA)
Admittedly, MinXus-Lynxus can be a bit clannish. We received this absolutely stunning piece from Mr. Bob Ray. We were breathless to share it with you (look at those amazing patina textures!). All the time we were asking ourselves: “Who is Bob Ray?” This must be a prank by a very talented friend. No one could actually be named Bob Ray. Ocracoke, North Carolina is a similar fiction, no doubt. How wrong! A quick search revealed Bob Ray is a very real and tremendously talented artist from North Carolina. How amazingly thoughtful: Bob Ray’s mail-art reaches to the essence of the MinXus-Lynxus aesthetic and the conceptual premise of the Mink Ranch.
Mink Rancher himself issues his autographed pictures on motel and tourist postcards. The Mink Ranch itself is modelled on the roadside attractions scattered along the US highways leading… somewhere else. We have the Mink Ranch Motel, the Alsatian Diner and Gift Shop, and the ranch tours. The idea is a post-Jack Kerouac vision of transient life on the road, traced back through the seedy noir motels in Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice or Chandler’s The Lady in the Lake and The Long Goodbye. Perhaps even moreso the grifters, hustlers and the perennially down-and-out and the world they inhabit in Jim Thompson’s books. Bob Ray nailed it.
We are pleased to make the acquaintance of Bob Ray and deeply appreciate this wonderful work.
MinXus-Lynxus 