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?
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4 comments:
For me, I keep all the Mail Art received. The person who wrote to me passed some time to make an original artwork and probably hopes that I keep it. It is a kind of respect towards him and his work.
It depends on how you look at it. I don’t think there is just one answer for me - a few thoughts that pass through my mind:
The overall contribution of mail art is a different aspect to the individual work. It helps to step back and look at the bigger picture, in my mind each work (regardless of my personal preference) is part of a large collage of communication from people around the world. That, for me, is what mail-art is all about. Communication.
BUT if I had limited storage space and many contributions over years I would probably cull the ones I didn't like. :D
I scan everything I receive and upload it onto my blog so if you have a copy is it important to keep the original?
I don't believe in clinging to anything so discarding objects is not a problem in a general sense.
If people throw out what I send them I don't mind but if I knew it was because they disregarded it I would not send them anything else again.
The old phrase what they don’t know doesn’t hurt them springs to mind.
regards,
Bridie Knight
... not alone the question ...
... what will happen after my death ...
... probably all my collected mail arts ...
... will be thrown away ...
... I wanted to give all my mail art concerning the socks & stockings ...
... to a museum in Italy ...
... but they don't even want to show it during a special exhibition about socks & stockings ...
... so what will happend to my collection in future ... ?
I keep all original works in my archive which is housed in the coal shed . The pile of boxes- 27 years worth is piled to the ceiling! In the past- when I was more active in the mail art network I used photo-copied art I received to paper my walls in our flat in London. Some got used to write letters on and others passed on in some way. Michael Lumb took a load for his archive. So I think you have to be creative with what you do with the stuff you don't want. Its impossible to keep everything- I recycled thousands of envelopes and kept the best for the archive.
I wonder what will happen to it all after I have gone too. Something for my relatives to sort out I guess!
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