Mail Art Discussion

New Poll

2011-08-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

QUESTION

2011-03-26T10:40:00.001-07:00

Which generation of Mail-Artists do you belong to? (see definition at: http://tampublications.blogspot.com/)customer surveys

IUOMA Network

2011-03-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/

100) IUOMA Poll-10

2010-12-31T03:55:00.000-08:00

99) What should be the topic of the 100th discussion?

2010-12-23T00:58:00.000-08:00

So far the discussions aren't that lively here. What discussion would cause a lot of reactions? What should be the issue to deal with?

98) What do poems by John M. Bennett mean to you?

2010-12-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

School

the crippled hanger ∞ flood nod trace
sighing in the water ∞ deep chump scored
blazer in the fog ∞ clasping the rent
my muddy throat ∞ dust fills the can
the pliant gas ∞ beets and spaghetti

frenchfries in the jello ∞ stiffer than rock
the window’s exploding air ∞ your gleaming ankle
dropping the whole ∞ torrent and sun
your day thought lost ∞ giggling under the bed
my cliff dirt found ∞ the running shirt filled

nighT

Torn

strokes of ham H lung pool
the drain of home H slung cheaper
lash drink cheese H foraging tune
my cost thumper H gosh loot
testing the door H mumbles grin

frown speech h clocking the floor
free ,huh? h your debt thighs
cacaphonic pantry h stroke dry milk
pricey wing h the lost flood
cave tooth h the feathered pig

sewN

X Ray

my shirt funnel s course chump
blaze the zoo s plush neck
doubling the corn s mile gnat
pustules and teeth s shining road
my passing blot s gush demon

ehécatl dried S clear and stuck
muddy lot S lips and light
popcorn inch S bury the frijol
butt sack S splash the grave
knight spot S your pants bloom

dresS

97) Do you still send out envelopes and snail-mail?

2010-12-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Are you still sending out postcards, envelopes and the traditional mail-art, or has the online activity taken over your main outlet to communicate with other artists?

96) IUOMA 1988-2010

2010-11-14T09:29:00.001-08:00

Now for two years on NING already:

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/

95) IUOMA Poll-9

2010-11-06T00:50:00.000-07:00

Should IUOMA TV allow advertising before and during the videos or not? (generates little income to host the IUOMA platform)Market Research

(main link to IUOMA TV is available at the IUOMA platform on NING; see http://iuoma.blip.tv)

94) IUOMA Poll-8

2010-10-31T02:10:00.000-07:00

Wat aspect of Mail-Art is important for you (choose 5)online surveys

93) IUOMA Poll-7

2010-10-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

How many mail-artists have you been in contact with over the whole periode you were active in Mail-Art?customer surveys

This is the 7th Poll. The results of all the polls will be published in 2011. The polls are published on several platforms. In the new communications times all the results of these Polls are added together and show significant results. Mostly over 150 people react to a poll and that gives some insight for sure.

92) Digital Database with information on Mail-Art

2010-07-18T01:28:00.000-07:00

This blog gradually is growing and contains already quite some information. Most Mail-Artists trust the Internet to archive things, but I am a bit sceptical on that. Archiving is done by mostly by humans, maybe using computers as their tools. Therefore I archive most of the things I publish online also in printed form. Just because that might last longer than digital stuff. Am I old-fashioned or are there others who work like that?

91) I think that Mail Art is a world apart. And you?

2010-07-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

a world apart?

90) Poll-5

2010-07-16T10:59:00.001-07:00

When you had to choose between Mail-Art and Fluxus what would you choose?customer surveys

89) Postcrossing.com

2010-07-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

hello, fellows!

is anyone here a member of postcrossing.com?
i have just joined and amazed with the idea. Me myself never got too excited sending postcards to my own people who i know would never reply ...anyway I always wanted to send more and more postcards even without having much in return, and now i know where i can input my forces =) sending cards to the same willing person =) isnt it brilliant!

88) Are people who they claim to be

2010-07-06T12:07:00.001-07:00

In Mail-Art it is normal to have an alias. Not being the person you realy are. Using a symbolic name for the mail-art you send out. Are the people online and say they are active in mail-art also really the persons they claim to be?

87) Poll-4

2010-07-03T00:14:00.001-07:00

86) Poll-3

2010-06-27T03:39:00.000-07:00

85) Poll-2

2010-06-26T22:56:00.002-07:00

How many Mail-Artists do you estimate there have been active from the beginning in the 60-ies till now (2010)?customer surveys

84) Poll-1

2010-06-26T22:56:00.001-07:00

How did you get involved in Mail-Art?Market Research

83) Art in Mail: Mail Art?

2010-06-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

I wonder: I see so many mail art send in envelopes, not as mail art. Wrong perception? What do you think?

82 ) Chinese Mail-Artists

2010-06-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

I started a project to search or even connect to Chinese mail-Artists. In the past (80-ies and 90-ies) I did get some mail from China. But mostly from non-Chinese that lived for some time there. Do you think there is a specific reason as to why there are no contacts with chinese. Are the reasons Language, politics, money......? What do you think?

81) Anyone can Comment now; doet that help?

2010-05-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

This blog has now a setting that anyone can comment. The moderation is set on to prevent spammers from automatically enter texts, but we will see if there are now more reactions. Do you agree this might help?

80) Do you actually read these posts?

2010-05-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

When I look at the number of visitors on this blog, it comes to over 2000 each month. The entries are just small numbers each month. To make it simple. When you read this message, just answer YES, and I know you are reading this. Does that work?

79) So many visitors, so few entries

2010-04-30T02:52:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of visitors to this Mail-Art Discussion Blog, but there are so fe entries? What is the reason for this? Is a blog not working. Do some visitors want to have access? (send a request by e-mail to me), or are we all just readers and no writer?

78) The right time for mail art.

2010-03-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Have you ever felt that something is blocking you, when you're trying to create mail art, but you don't know what is it? Or what's causing it? I'm having the right ideias, but something is saying it is not the right day to do it. This is realy weird sometimes. Maybe we just assemble the thoughts and dreams in our minds until the right time to release them into art.

Anyway, hope you're all having a good time over the world.

Eduardo Cardoso

http://paranormalmailart.blogspot.com

77) glad to be here

2010-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

hi Ruud many thanks for inviting me to join the group.

Hope I've navigated the various complexities of enrolment successfully !

76) More Mail-Art projects?

2010-02-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

On the website for Mail-Art projects I notice that the number of started mail-art projects is increasing. New mail-artists start with new projects which start on websites like these and don't use the mail for spreading the project news. Documentation is also published on websites. Is this the new Mail-Art Projects reality and do you like this developement?

75) Has Mail-Art changed?

2010-01-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

The new generation that does "Mail-Art" might have a different perception of this art-movement than the older generation that has participated for decades. Is that true?

74) Where are all the artistbooklets "mail art statements for Ruud" I have sent out last year ?

2010-01-20T02:36:00.000-08:00

http://socks-stockings.blogspot.com/2009/03/some-outgoing-mail-art-booklets.html
you can have a look here to whom I have sent all of them, the first went out to Klaus Groh and came back to me and I sent it again out. and by the way all of them wanted to participate at that time in this project. So Ruud, maybe you can ask each of these artists personally.

73) Time to read

2010-01-18T22:29:00.001-08:00

Yesterday suddenly 5 comments on my blog from Michael Leigh. He writes - among other things- that blogging on his own sites it takes away the time to visit all the other blogs and see what is happening. Time is scarce. Do we have time to read all the things other publish? How do you divide the time to publish and read?

72) Ray's Big Day

2010-01-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

Did anyone send or receive anything interesting on this important date? I sent a card to three people; would've sent more, but didn't notice the date until just before the post office closed.

Cheers,

Brad

71) New Mail-Artists from the Web

2009-11-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

The older generation Mail-Artists was sending out traditional mail and integrated the e-mail and Internet with their communication. There is now a new generation out there that discovered mail-art through the Internet and only after that started with the sending and receiving of mail-art. What made you choose for the slow and old-fashioned mail? You could send a digital images instead? What made you send out mail the old-fashioned way?

70) M@IL-@RT and INTERNET

2009-10-28T05:32:00.000-07:00

69) is this mail art too ?

2009-10-28T02:47:00.000-07:00

this I found today in my mail box, without any address without any postage stamp, nothing but a plastic cover of "edle Bismarck Heringe" - who has eaten this fish?

nevertheless it is well fitting to my mail art call on Otto von Bismarck http://bismarck-mail-art.blogspot.com/ and will be part of the exhibition next year

68) Self-promotion or Networking?

2009-10-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

I notice that the tendency of some mail-artists is to post just anywhere their work without any reaction to the place where they publish their work. Have some forgot the interaction that is so basis to mail-art?

67) A BOOK ABOUT DEATH/ Matthew Rose

2009-09-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

Matthew Rose September 10 at 5:06am Reply

LIVE WEB CAST FOR THE OPENING IS HERE: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/abookaboutdeath

Please bookmark the page. We'll be starting around 6 pm NYC Time.

If you are planning to come to the opening, come around 6 PM, bring a bag for the pages of the book (some are large).

See the most recent works on the blog: http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com/

And artist Caterina Verde's "wall" web site of the show here:

http://abookaboutdeath.net/

More photos coming... if you will be at the opening feel free to video tape the performance.

Thanks to all who made this happen.

Best,

Matthew

66) Are there too many blogs?

2009-06-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

Nowadays there are so many blogs that everybody is posting but no-one really has the time to go to all the other blogs. Communication is slowly coming to a new point where the blogs are taken over by social networks. Do you agree?

65) Mail-Art and Publishing Books

2009-01-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

After decades of doing Mail-Art I too started to publish books with the result of what I have written over the years and found out. I notice that the mail-artists tend not to buy these books. Is there a reason for this? Don't they want to pay money for books on the subject? Should mail-Art and money not be mixed?

64) Against Gender Violence

2008-11-28T07:04:00.000-08:00

More Info at http://boek861.com/violencia/

63) US International Postal Rates

2008-11-21T21:50:00.001-08:00

The International Postal Rates from the USA have been going up a few cents every year। Here are the Rates as of November 2008:
To Canada, Mexico: $०.72 for the first ounce, $0.55 for additional ounces
To other countries: $०.94 for the first ounce, $0.75 for additional ounces
There is an additional flat fee charge of $०.20 for:
- Large envelopes
- Rigid envelopes
- स्कुँरे envelopes
I usually add the 20 cents To be certain.

62) Mail Art Censhorship

2008-11-12T12:01:00.001-08:00

Folgende Information habe ich über http://www.01pla.net von Philippe Pissier erhalten:

September 24, 2008 French Postcards
A blogger on Libération’s Web site, Agnès Viard, reports that, in June, in Cahors, in the southwest of France, the mail artist Philippe Pissier (pronounced piece-Y¥) was being subjected to criminal investigation for having mailed a postcard of a bare-breasted woman, a nipple pierced with a safety pin, to a German exhibit of erotic mail art that had invited him to participate. After the assistant prosecutor Isabelle Ardeef began the investigation, Pissier was informed that he risked three years in prison and a fine of 175,000 euros for the crime of “disturbing public order and mentally endangering children by means of a pornographic work.” The following month, his computer and many of his works were confiscated, but the artist has remained without official word since then. As Pissier remarked, I am an adult, the mail sorters are adults, the mailman is an adult, and the addressee is an adult. I don’t see what the problem is. The local press has weighed in, heaping scorn on Ardeef for the inquiry. Giard reminds readers that such paintings as “Gabrielle d’Estrées,” by an anonymous French artist of the sixteenth century, is on open display at the Louvre, including to minors. “Le ridicule ne tue pas” (“You can’t be killed by ridicule”), the French say; but officials there would do well to remember that, in 1966, Charles de Gaulle’s regime was shaken by its (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to ban Jacques Rivette’s movie “La Religieuse,” a misstep that definitively revealed the aged President’s incommensurable distance from modern life.

More Info:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/goingson/2008/09/french-postcard.html

61) Mail-Art Changed my Life

2008-10-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just orderd this new rubberstamp. Symbolic for my life: It is changed by Mail-Art quite a lot. So why not share that with others. The rubberstamp still has to be made. I expect it in 2 days and will then start to use it.....

Is this a topic you can relate to? What changes have Mail-Art brought into your life?

60) Mail-Art in 10 years?

2008-10-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

With the rate the postal rates have increased, the sending of mail-art by traditional mail has become quite expensive. The die-hards keep on sending mail-art, but a new generation still has to discover the postage Stamp.

Will Mail-Art be arround in about 10 years?

59) Guillermo Deisler

2008-09-16T14:37:00.001-07:00

This hommage to chilean visal poet Guillermo Deisler I did more then ten years ago. It was onew of my first experience with multimedia. Reactions please.

Greetings from Hamburg

58) How do you archive mail art?

2008-09-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

Sending out some collage-cards using glue I thought about archiving or conserving mail art.

I am quite sure that after two or three years the glue will not keep the parts together. As it will also happen to cards I've got. Now, do you take precautions? Do you re-glue cards of your collection?

57) Impatience?

2008-09-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I just realized, that I sometimes become really impatient, waiting for the arrival of my send outs. On bad days ideas like "I should just post these cards with e-mail as computer scans instead of snail mail posts" come to my mind; and waiting for replies really nibble on my self consciousness ("Have I made sth. wrong?").

Well, on good days of course, I just think using snail mail is a good lesson to slow down in our fast world.

Best,

mischa

56) Mail-Art Discussions

2008-08-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

As I have noticed only few discussions take place here. It seems most mail-artists are busy with sending out and receiving mail-art and don't like to discuss the subject. No problem. The blog will stay online just to demonstrate that.

55) Mail-Art Archives

2008-06-29T22:56:00.001-07:00

In my TAM-Archive I found this old article I wrote about Mail-Art Archives. It was then 20 pages long and I am rethinking this topic for a new version. What has happened to the mail-art that has been sent out all these years. Is it sold, brought to archives, still hidden in boxes, what do we know?

Any stories or things I should know on this subject?

After the summervacation I will start on writing a new text. I discovered some mail-art archives has moved into certains places, sometimes wellknown archives. But sometimes they are also sold (yes, people pay for the old mail-art of some wellknown people....)

Your thoughts?

54) What to say about this?

2008-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

The coupons I send out have a specific topic they touch. Is mail-art 'guilt-free' as some Americans say? Does one decide to answer or not and is the mailing one sends out really free. Or is it that mail-artists expect an answer and think it is wrong not to answer a piece of mail-art they receive? reactions?

53) A mail art a day...

2008-06-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I'd like to know how other mail artists "work": Do you produce daily / on the week end / from time to time, but focussed?

The background of my question is that often a "guilty" feeling starts when I don't make & send cards - mostly because my job eats me... From time to time I plan to make a card a day, as quick & dirty as I can, but at least I have cards to send. But then my "standards" come knocking and say: "You don't want to send this card?!?".

Well, how do you handle this?

Thanks for your response,

mischa gerloff

52) How much is the cheapest postage to send something to abroad?

2008-06-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

I know that the postal rates have increased a lot over the years. The 'snail-mail' has become very expensive. The rates for the cheapest mail in the Netherlands are:

Inside Netherlands (to 20 gram) 44 Eurocent
Inside Europe (to 20 gram) 75 Eurocent
Outside Europe (to 20 gram) 89 Eurocent

Just wondered how the rates are in other countries?

51) Question on size 8x8cm

2008-05-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

Looking at the circulaire 132, I wonder if there is a special idea behind artwork using dimensions of 8cmx8cm?
Can you give me the origin and the significance of this?

50) Cartoon by Keith Bates

2008-04-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

Your comments to this cartoon by Keith Bates bout the "MailArtMan"...........

49) New discussion one week later

2008-04-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

The mail is slow and takes time. The Internet publishes righ away and people can read all at the same time.... Do you spend to much time online and therefore don't send out as much as you would like to?

48) no discussions since exactly one month ?

2008-04-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

so what do you think about my new blog " a collARTage a day" I started just some days ago

to raise a little fund for my planned fluxus artistbook to be edited in future

it is a kind of a fluxus performance

give me some input, send me maybe a little scrap to integrate

than I will create my new collARTage

http://collartage.blogspot.com/

come in and find out

47) MailArt contains Inspiration and may be Addiction!

2008-03-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

Misha Gerloff

46) ... using mail art for the cover of a catalogue ...

2008-03-01T03:50:00.001-08:00

The A. S. Popov Central Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg has used my mail art for the cover of the catalogue of the show "Mailartissimo", without asking me before, not sending me an invitation to the exhibition (which is now even already closed), neither a copy of the catalogue. I asked the museum now several times in the last weeks to get a copy but did not get any reply.

What do you think about it ?

45) What is your passion in Mail-Art?

2008-02-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

Why are you doing Mail-Art? With the electronic communication-ways some still prefer the handmade mail and keep sending things out. Why?

44) Where is question No. 39 ?

2008-02-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

43) Where is Charles François?

2008-02-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

In the 80-ies I was in contact a lot with Charles Francois from Liege, Belgium. He used a modem and an Apple computer in the early years of communicating with e-mail. He har RATOS, I had the TBHS (Tam Bulletin Host System), and we were pioneers in these new fields where mail-art and electronic networks joined.

On the Internet I can hardly find things from him. His old website from the University of Liege has gone.... Does anybody know where he is or what happened?

The photo is from my archives (dates 15 years back I think).

42) ... mail art or not mail art ? ...

2008-02-02T01:09:00.000-08:00

No. 123 - arriving mail (art?) from Andreas Hofer Bund (Germany) - a funny letter arrived me today, from the so-called Andreas Hofer Bund, editor of "Berg Feuer" they sent me their info material and a money transfer from. Is it really mail art ? Post your comments also on my blog about Andreas Hofer : http://andreas-hofer.blogspot.com/

41) Mail Art Books - Where are they?

2008-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

To my knoledge in the last years there were only little publications on the subject mail-art. In the 90-ies there were some books written and published on the subject, but the new generations hardly knows about thee books. Also the accesibility of these book is low. They aren't available in libraries or bookshops........

What will happen. Do we need more books, will there eventually be more online that covers the area, or is there almost no new development in mail-art so books aren't needed? What do you think?

40) Is Mail-Art more than Mail-Art Projects?

2008-01-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get the idea that most things I see connected to mail-art are Mail-Art projects. Just different themes, different sizes, deadlines, etc. Is Mail-Art only Mail-Art Projects for you (as a practitioner) or is it more for you?

38) grubby worn-out sock - mail art ?

2007-12-22T03:23:00.000-08:00

37) Addicted to Mail-Art?

2007-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-12-19T07:17:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-12-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

33) Thesis on Mail-Art

2007-12-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-12-05T14:58:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-11-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-21T22:17:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-20T11:59:00.001-08:00

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 ?

2007-11-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

23) What isn't Mail-Art

2007-11-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

This is mail art 5m long

This is mail art (make by children)

This is mail art stamp in the back

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!

2007-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

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!

20) ... and is this mail art ??? ...

2007-11-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

... I just covered the senders address ...

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

2007-11-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

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?

18) ... is this mail art ??? ...

2007-11-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

...LONDON NIMBUS ...

private & confidential

17) Is Mail-Art guilt-free?

2007-11-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-15T04:16:00.000-08:00

14) Four questions from Rachel

2007-11-14T10:01:00.002-08:00

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?

2007-11-14T10:01:00.001-08:00

12) What makes art Mail Art?

2007-11-14T10:00:00.002-08:00

11) What do you get from doing mail art?

2007-11-14T10:00:00.001-08:00

10) Why do you do mail art?

2007-11-14T09:59:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-11-12T09:46:00.000-08:00

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....

7) ... historians in art ignore mail art ? ...

2007-11-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

Do you have any experiences with it - during my study of history of art in Germany as well in Italy, not a single lecture was given about mail art / fluxus or something similar to it.

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

2007-11-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-11-11T03:41:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-11T03:19:00.000-08:00

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?