May 07 2008
Mail Art
Art In The Mail- Why Do I Love Mail Art?
The mail art movement is international. That right there intrigues me, pulls me in.
Mail artists live in various cultures worldwide, places that contrast politically, economically and socially. When there is a call, these artists generously send in their creative ideas, their imagery; drawings, prints, collages, paintings, any and all forms that can make it through the postal system are dispatched. Essentially, they send their voices, and for a moment it all comes together in one space. This is unifying as much as it is divergent but mostly it is powerful. It’s a powerful, connected artistic community.
Mail art is also easy to jump into, as accessible as your mailbox.
This will be a running list of reasons I participate, as they come to mind:
*Mail Art is creative (of course that had to be listed first). There’s lots of creative problem solving in response to a particular theme. Yes, I do so in my painting and collage series, but those have a particular recurring focus, developed over time. Mail art presents me with topics I may not have considered. It stimulates creative thinking.
*Mail Art is experimental. This is an extension of the above creativity. It’s a chance to let loose in a small format and explore various artistic styles with diverse materials.
*Mail Art is democratic. Artist on all levels of skill and experience may contribute. There is no jury, no judgment.
*Mail Art creates its own standards. That is, the artists set the parameters. No museum, gallery, or collector dictates what is acceptable or what defines “today’s art”.
*Mail Art is subversive. That goes along with the above and because Mail art has roots in Dada.
OK, that’s some of my two cents worth, more to come later…
YOUR TWO CENTS WORTH: comments from mail artists on the Mail Art movement are now on a separate page Mail Art-Two Cents
Following is a list of projects I’ve contributed to lately. The Thumb! Call is listed in 2008. Here are photos of the Thumb! Exhibition
The Philosophy Day 1st International Mail Art Exhibition. An exhibition was held November 21-November 28 2007 at Vlasis Art .Com Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece.
1st MoSa Collection Exhibition An exhibition was held November 1-15, 2007 in Malaysia
Sustaining Our Environment Postcards Project The postcards were displayed at the Janette Kennedy Gallery and the Women’s Caucus For Art booth in Dallas Texas, USA February 2008.
Ruud Janssen’s Mail-Artists Selfportraits Project (the Netherlands).
Inside and Out: Architecture and Interior Design Mail Art Event and Dialogue. Organized by the Modesto Art Museum. An exhibition was held March 15-April ?, 2008, at Picasso’s Deli and Gallery. Modesto, CA USA
Postcard Montreal, Québec, CANADA
SACREDNESS OF THE WILDLIFE The artworks were exhibited during April 2008 in Athens, Greece, at the Hellenic Pagan Festival «Olympieia»
Ryosuke Cohen’s Brain Cell -Fractal #709 & #718, Osaka, Japan
Fetish & Consumption The Exhibition is at the Akademie Schlos Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany, May 29, 2008 -July 5, 2008
Thème 2008; Le Vin (yep, that’s wine!) Works will be exhibited during the first edition of “Mail Art Encounters”, in Castelnau-Montratier, France, in the Village Hall, in City Hall, and in the shops.
…and then of course Thumb!
Thumb! There was a three-day exhibit July 25, 26, & 27, 2008 at the Odd Fellows Hall in Kernville, California, USA.
Mailmania 3 Exhibition at Studio J, Victoria, BC, September 18-27, 2008, and at the Slide Room Gallery at the Vancouver Island School of Art,Victoria, BC Jan 11- 4 Feb 2009. Deadline: September 4, 2008
L’enfance Mailartee Exhibition for sale to benefit French Children’s Associations. Deadline: September 26, 2008
POETRY AND STAMP ART Deadline: October 20, 2008
Ko de Jonge’s Art = Start Archives of Artists Books, Middleburg, The Netherlands
Woman: The Prism deadline October 31, 2008. Exhibition: Circolo Arcimontorio Verona, Italy
TEN To commemorate North York Visual Artists’ 10th anniversary. Deadline: November 1, 2008. Exhibition: NYVA’s Winter Show at the Papermill Gallery, Todmorden Mills, Toronto from December 3rd to 14th, 2008
Elimination of Violence against Women 2nd International Mail Art Exhibition– Exhibition in Serres, Greece. Deadline: November 11, 2008.
Artistamps in the Mailstream Exhibition: The show will be mounted at Mess Hall in Chicago as part of the Collections and Archives as Creative Practice show at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Artistamps in the Mailstream is curated by Andrew Oleksiuk. Deadline: November 26, 2008
The Ocean Works will be exhibited December 5, 2008 -January 10, 2009 in the The Françoise Giroud Library of Castries, France. Deadline: November 15, 2008
Arnolfini Archives’ project called Mini[e]MailArt #4 Violet Spots An online project. Deadline: November 30, 2008
Conceptual Continuity That tenuous thread that, outside and above individual projects and personal experiences, connects the work of Ray Johnson to the current Mail Art. Italy. Deadline December 10, 2008
The 11th Annual Postcards From The Edge in New York. Benefit Sale – one day only-Saturday, January 10, 2009 from 11:00 - 6:00. Deadline: Friday, December 18, 2008
Artistamp 2008 Deadline: December 31, 2008
Andreas Hofer-Tyrolean Hero There will be several exhibitions in South Tyrol, Germany, and elsewhere in 2009. Deadline: December 31, 2008
Gallery 7 Mail Art Call Gallery exhibition in Hutchison, Kansas.
Arnolfini Archives Mini[e]MailArt No5 - Unique numbers Deadline February 29, 2009.
Surrealism Mail Art Exhibition, March 3-26, 2009 Mistlin Gallery, 1015 J Street, Modesto, California. organized by the Modesto Art Museum.
Estampillas de Artista. Artistamps, Argentina.
Mail Train. Minden, Germany. Deadline March 31, 2009
Malaysia Mail Art Festival 2009. Shah Alam Gallery, Shah Alam, Malaysia. April 2009
Dodo Dada Dado. Deadline: 30 January 2010. Claudio creates 3-D with our mail art.
“Zero Nuclear Weapons, Zero Weapons of Mass Destruction: Create a Culture of Peace Now!” Deadline: September 1, 2009 . To be displayed at The Ribbon International at the United Nations Conference in Mexico City in September, 2009.
Heebee Jeebeeland Visit “An Island Paradise for Mail Artists Located in the 4th Dimension”. Deadline: 03/2010
Mailmania 4 Exhibition at the Slide Room Gallery at the Vancouver Island School of Art,Victoria, BC October 8 -November 8th 2010. Deadline: September 4, 2010
[...] Mail Art [...]
The Art is the most beautiful answer to the questions of the world.
The Mail Art is one of the most democratic way of the Art.
The E-Mail Art is the perfect way of the Mail Art in the 21st century.
della Mail Art amo soprattutto la totale libertà creativa!
I love Mail Art because put me in contact with the diversity that exists in the world.
Celebrate and show the beauty of human differences was (and still is) the theme in my artwork…
Since last year, when I learn about Mail Art, something changed in my life…
Mail Art is a passion, is a loving addiction, is hope… More than that, is happiness!
I love Mail Art because is an easy way to share with the world my art and my thoughts. Also, Mail Art allows me to know different points of view and many artists around the world who become friends. For these reasons and more Mail Art is great!!!
I love Mail Art because is a Fantasy Generator!!!
For me it is a break from my creative position-
something else to think about and less demanding
I’m in love with stamps
I like to send and to receive mail art
and to be a part of the global mailart network….
[...] Mail Art [...]