37) Addicted to Mail-Art?

I know that some people stumble onto mail-Art, explore it. Play the game, and after a while (sometimes a few years) stop and leave. Some stay, and have become addicted to the exhange of art, ideas and the community involved.

Why does one get addicted?

(the images below I got by mail as a reaction to this question.)

36) How do you feel the Internet will effect the future of mail art-will it have positive or negative affects?

35) Do you believe that computer generated mail art is a more unclear form of mail art?

34) Why do mail artists use the computer as a tool to create mail art, doesn't this abandon the fact that it is mail art?

33) Thesis on Mail-Art

Over the years several persons have done research on the subject of mail-art. Some of the results I have in my collection. I am quite interested in reading these results. If someone has a thesis (or even has written one him/her-selve) I would very much like to read it. Maybe some readers can also direct me to sources. I know of some works (and have read them), but welcome any new texts to explore.

I know of works by Michael Lumb (UK), Carola van der Heijden (NL), Honoria (USA). Still looking for the text written by Donavan (UK).

32) How does one stop with Mail-Art?

Stopping with Mail-Art sometimes seems so easy. Just don't send anything out, and the mail to you will dry up. Some even send mailings out to the network telling everyobdy they stop. Some even had to stop because of finacial problems or other problems. Did somebody stop somewhere in the past and would like to explain why?

31) Is the Father Christmas a mailartist?

Letter that my children received from the Father Christmas in response to the list of gifts that they sent to him.

30) The older Mail-Artists Generation

Is seems that the 'older mail-art generation' isn't active on The Internet that much. Do they still send out mail-art and avoid the Internet. Did they stop? Did only the Computer-users survive the Internet-changes? What happened?

29) Sell your archive?

I know that most mail-artists that have been arround for decades have build up quite a collection. The best pieces they keep, other things they recycle. The 'garbage' is dealt with (or not). That leaves you with a problem of a growing collection that takes more time and is getting valuable. What do you think of the options:

1. Sell it to the highest bidder.
2. Arrange a museum of organisation to invest in currating the collection

And what to do when no-one wants the collection? Leave if for the next generation to decide on?

28) Mail-Art and language

　リトアニア出身のマチューナスは年当時，ニューヨーク大学で美術史を学び ，古楽器の儲からないディーラーをしていた。彼は建築，Mail-Artグラフィック・アート，音楽学も学んでいたが，特に美術史家として有望であり，芸術の形式，芸術運動，芸術の学派について研究し，全世界の芸術史を時間的・空間的に網羅した表を作ろうと試みていた。年の秋，ニューヨークのニュー・スクール・フォー・ソーシャル・リサーチでＲ．マックスフィールドによる電子音楽の講座を受けた彼は，L．ヤングと出会い，翌年にヤングの書籍『アンソロジー』という当時の前衛的な作品を集めた書籍の編集

Does language influence the mail-art network you have build up arround you?

27) Mail-Art and Money don't mix

Lon Spiegelman made this statement. Money should not be involved in the "game" of mail-art. I know that this rule has several aspect. Is it allowed to sell a mail-art catalogue to the network? Can you ask an entrance fee for a mail-art show. Can you sell your mail-art collection to a museum or established archive? All these things have happened in te past.

26) In Between Results

25) Is it allowed to throw away mail-art you receive?

This question is interesting since I once told in an interview years ago that I threw away some pieces I consider 'garbage'. I was confronted with very strong reactions against this statement that it was considered not done. What to do with a piece of mail you get that you don't want to keep (=archive) and you don't feel fit in distributing further?

If mail-art is guilt-free, then there should not be a problem. If there is the expectation that all one sends is archived by the receiver expects that from you, there is a problem.

Do you keep all mail-art you have ever received?

24) THE MAIL ART IS A GAME OR IS IT SERIOUS ?

23) What isn't Mail-Art

Seems like a lot of contributors want to show us what IS mail-art. Nothing wrong with that. I am currious to what we consider NOT mail-art? A nice example can be the project where mail-artists are called to send in works that is goijng to be sold for a good cause. A mail-art project where one can buy the catalogue, a mail-art project that askes an entrance fee. That is where the borders come closer to what we call mail-art or not. It has to do with the global intension I guess as well.

22) This is Mail Art

This is mail art 5m long

This is mail art (make by children)

This is mail art (make by children)

This is mail art stamp in the back

This is mail art

This is mail art

This is mail art no stamp

This is mail art pancake

This is mail art

21) and this is definitely mail art!

Envie front

Art inside *front cover*

*back cover*
--------------------

This yummy surprise came from Mary Ann in Los Angeles whose blog is filled with mail art and other lively conversation. We exchanged mail art a few months back and I was lucky enough to receive this fun package filled with awesome art. Check her blog for more of her mail art!

19) Why all the fuss about what IS or ISN'T mail art?

I am fairly new to the genre *and some would say there IS no genre officially* of mail art, and think that waaay too much discussion has been exhausted on what is mail art, what ISN'T mail art, what is the importance, why it's NOT important and so on...the whole thing is simply overwhelming. Can't we all just agree that mail art IS anything sent through the postal service to another person containing some form of artistic merit? It can be a stamp, faux postage, drawing, painting, collage, political commentary, social commentary or other societal topic using MAIL as the venue to present the IDEA, if not the art? All of us have a "set" description in our minds as to what we each consider "art" and if not art with a capital A then is it "craft"? Do we really even need a distinction? The high society of art dealers, critics, salespersons and collectors would say YES! But mail art has been an outsider type of art from the start. Right? Well, it's been said that Picasso mailed some small paper collages to his cohorts in his day and is this considered MAIL ART? Hmmm. I say we wrestle ourselves free from debating this whole art vs. non art discussion and just make what ever it is that moves us. What do you think?

17) Is Mail-Art guilt-free?

With the term "guilt-free" I mean: Is the receiver of a mail-art piece free to do what he wants? (Answer the piece, just absorb it, ignore it, etc....) Or is he/she supposed to answer the mail-art piece?

16) Old and New Mail-Artists. What Rules and which Network?

Mail-Art means something different to everybody that works in this field. Some have experienced the changes over the decades, were in contact with the first generation who started it all. Some have only discovered Mail-Art a few years or even moths ago and start to discover the many aspects of it. The basic aspect is that people have the need to communicate and to create. The process of sender and receiver, the use of communicationforms. The 'old' generation always communicated with the snail-mail system, mayby integrated with the FAX and telephone. Computers only became available end of the last century, and the experimenting started. The 'new' generation grows up with computers and discover this almost anarchistic art-form called mail-art. The 'unwritten rules' that mail-art follows have been written down many times, but every newcomer can write his own rules. The essence is that he/she will become the center of the new created network of which he/she will be part. When we talk about 'the Network' we sometimes forget that everybody means a different network. My network is limited by the people I know and the information I get. That is a different network compaired to the one my correspondents know.That is probably the charme as well of the Mail-Art network. Through every contact you are able to discover a new aspect of the Network, and follow the path you find. Mail-Art is a discovery-path.

15) Was mail art rejected in galleries in the 1970's?

14) Four questions from Rachel

Rachel is doing research on the topic of mail-art and asks the 4 basic questions she sees. They are placed below. Maybe you can help her with giving your answers.....

I started to number the other questions/topics as well. This way we can bring some structure into the discussions. Place you comments on each item. When you bring in a topic, please feel free to explani what you want to know as detailed as you want.

This blog will get interesting for people who want to research mail-art and want to know about the many views that we have.

13) What direction do you believe mail art will take in the future?

12) What makes art Mail Art?

11) What do you get from doing mail art?

10) Why do you do mail art?

9) The Mail-Art Network Expanding or getting smaller?

There are two theories about the growth of the Mail-Art network. Some think the mail-art network is gradually getting smaller because of the increase of postage. Others say that is gets a boost because now more people have access to information about mail-art because of the Internet. What do you think. Did Internet make the network smaller or larger?

8) Is this Book Mail-Art?

Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock. It is a book I read that deals with the fictive correspondence of two persons. All done very well. I wonder. Do you consider this mail-Art? At www.amazon.com you can look inside the first pages of the book to have an idea. There are 3 (or more?) issues of this series....

6) No Questions? Just start to ask....

Well Mail-Artists. This is a blog where you can too publish your views and thoughts. Since there are now already some contributors who signed up, you will sure get some reactions. This Blog can be used to get the information you want to have. So far I seem to be the only to post here, So who is next? Get answers to the things you always wanted to know (and maybe get answers).

5) What happens to the mail-artists that are not online?

Some mail-artist that ar sending out mail for decades still aren't online. They find this electronic game not exciting. They form their own network I guess and still keep sending out. A new generation has appeared as well. They discover mail-art online and only after that bstart to send out e-mails and even later the envelopes and cards.

Because of the postal rates the size and weight is smaller sometimes of the pieces that are sent out, but the mail-boxes worldwide got impulses again because of the Internet.

4) Digital contributions for a Mail-Art Project

A lot of Mail-Art projects are being started every month. Some accept also digital contributions, some only want to receive the real mail (snail-mail) as contribution. What is your view about this?

3) Catalogues

Because I am taking part in Mail-Art for a long time I also have quite a collection of catalogues. In the last years the new media also brought me CD-catalogs. The new catalogues are nowadays online websites and BLOGS. I know I still prefer the book-form although it is the most expensive form to publish the results of a project. Is this the way it will go in the future. Will Mail-Art more and more become a digital happening.

2) Doing Mail-Art or Talk about it?

Yes, I know that there are mail-artists who rather just DO mail-art and don't want to discuss the subject. I on the other hand, always have liked to discuss the subject. Mail-art is a bit broader than the regular projects that one sees online. Mail-Art is a conceptual art-form that comes out of the need to communicate. It also originates from the Fluxus Mvement and now stands on its own. Do i see these things right?

1) Mail Art Discussion

What is Mail-Art for you. What happened in the past, What are we doing now. What will mail-Art be like in the future? Lots of questions we could discuss on this blog. If you want to speak out. This one of the places for it....