Memories and Photos From Michael Snelling and Suhanya Raffel
I first recall John sometime in the early mid sixties, when he and June came to visit my parents. John wore a white suit and I think had a ponytail. This was a memorable look in suburban Sydney - elegant and out there.
In 1979 I stayed at Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn with John, Simon, Phoebe and Chloe. June was in LA at the time, and I’d seen her a few weeks earlier.
This was John’s Independent Curator period, which is hard work anywhere, let alone New York. Despite this, and that he also had another guest, Alison Carroll, staying, he didn’t hesitate to accommodate me.
My own work kept me in occasional contact and in the periods when I was almost regularly visiting Perth, after he re-located there, I’d usually call and we would meet. He’d show me the Stokes collection with his pride and enthusiasm barely restrained.
I recall asking him early on whether he was enjoying the job. He looked me straight in the eye and said “Like a pig in shit” immediately followed by laughter. He seemed both surprised and grateful that life had dealt him such a good hand, although everyone else seemed to think it was a privilege to have him.
I think the last time I saw him we went to a Laurie Anderson concert and he was off to Sydney to see the Stones.
I also had a pretty good idea of what he, Simon, Phoebe and Chloe were up to from Richard with whom I have had a fortuitous work and social friendship for over the last decade, supplemented by occasional snippets from June’s mother via my mother.
I’m sure these kinds of six degrees of separation extended relationships surrounded John. He attracted people by his clarity and focus, his love and deep knowledge of art, music, architecture, and his willingness to share those passions.
These photos are some from that time in 1979 of John looking at art.
This is at Walter de Maria’s Broken Kilometer which had just been installed and is, I assume, still there maintained by the Dia.
This is at a Joel Shapiro show
And finally John is not in this image but he is standing next to me when I took it and it wouldn’t exist but for him, and so it seems to have both his presence and his absence.
I forget the gallery, but it was showing Mapplethorpe - a very early exhibition although Mapplethorpe was known for his commercial work. The gallerist took us into the back room - because it was John - to show him these two portfolios, the subsequently (in)famous X and Y folios. You went places with John.
Our deepest sympathies to John’s family
Michael Snelling and Suhanya Raffel
