Snowwhite Jung ( Susan Young ) added to this booklet to improve your word power with additional collage drawing and speech bubbles.1985.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Postcard Exchange - Collaboration
Four postcards from many sent to Worcester Art Gallery and back again as part of the exchange project I initiated in 1997. Visitors to the gallery added to this image of Archie on the beach in Dorset and sent them to me for additions and I sent them to the gallery again to be pinned up. These are colour copies the gallery sent back to me.
Anonymous - Postcard
Can't quite figure out who sent this twenty years after the day it dropped onto my mat. The rubber stampings on the reverse give clues - "Forever Paradise", "Be as active as a SWAMP". Also typed- "Put this on a (rubber stamp of plane) and deliver like a pronto pup".Postmarked Oakland, CA. Any body have any ideas?
H.R. Fricker - Book
Two pages from a limited edition book, b&w photo copy with added stickers, stamps and collage. A "Tourism Review"
urging networkers during the DAMNED TO BE A TOURIST project to visit each other.1984.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Mittendorf/ Scott /Jones - Postcard
This collaborative postcard was first sent to Hazel Jones from Henning Mittendorf in Germany and then to Michael Scott who added the Ray Johnson snake rubber stamp. Michael sent it back to Hazel who sent it to me.1984.
Cavellini - Book
Cavellini sent me several books and piles of stickers in 1981. This one about his trip to California and Budapest in 1980. the cover features a photo of Bill Gaglione and Buster Cleveland in suits covered in Cavellini's stickers.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Baroni & Ackerman - Stampsheet
A "Near the Edge" publications collaborative stampsheet by Vittore Baroni and Al Ackerman from 1982.
Leslie Caldera - Documentation
This book was the documentation for a project to celebrate the birth of one of the masters of collage, Kurt Schwitters in 1887. Leslie a.k.a. Creative Thing made a limited edition of 200 books with over 100 pages of b & w illustrations, many pages in colour with added collage, stickers and rubber stampings as we see on the cover here.
buZ blurr - Letter and stencil print
Master of stencil portraiture and stampworks buZ blurr sent this letter in 1983 from Gurdon, Arkansas.
Bernd Lobach - Documentation/book
The Bible Of Postage Stamps Part 1 ( not sure what happened to Part 2 ?) this was the hefty documentation for the artistamps project that Bernd organised in 1985. Over 200 pages of black & white illustrations and text.
Anna Banana - Postcard
"The Flag of Bananada", made in 1983. Photo by Liz Grogan. On the reverse is a rubber stamp which says-" Send imagery,information, anecdotes, jokes, new stories, etc. that make reference to BLACK, for use in performance...."
Michael Leigh - Envelope 1972
Not really mail art as such as I knew nothing about the network in 1972 when this envelope was made, but it does not look out of place here and shows how much I was interested in making my mail as attractive as possible. The letter inside was similarly decorated with collage and penned in inks of many colours.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Rea Nikonova - "Double" Assembling
A "book" assembled by Russian artist Rea in 1984 from 31 pages by 31 artists, including pages by myself, Vittore Baroni,PLG, Robin Crozier, Jonathan Stangroom, Luc Fierens etc. Described as an "International mail art and visual poetry review."
Collaborative Pass Along Collage
Passed between John Evans, Michael Scott,and Steve Random and eventually to me. Started in 1976. I got it in 1984.
Artist X - Documentation
Photocopied booklet sent back for doc. of "1984- The Year We've Been waiting For" project from New Mexico. Inside the front page it reads "Over 140 entries filled the North gallery of the ASA. The show introduced a lot of people to mail art, and the comments book reflected an overwhelming positive reaction to the show."
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Carlo Pittore - Documentation
Front cover of eight page catalogue with stamp sheets and cut out postcards etc. for Maine Festival International Mail Art Exhibition 1983.
Michael Scott - Postcard
An altered postcard of a work by American artist Ed Ruschca which Michael has changed from Made In U.S.A. to Made In Leeds, his home town. 1984. On the reverse it has a rubber stamp image of the "Large Glass" and the words MORSEL DUCHAMP (sic).
Lon Spiegelman - Envelope
Inside is Spiegelman's Mailart Rag, a news-sheet of just two pages that Lon put out briefly around that time.1983. His mail art alter-ego Penis Fudsworth complains in the first paragragh that" I am trying to overcome the mail-art malady of "backlog", that insidious germ which affects all correspondence artists from time to time. It is the nature of the beast which our daily concerns for family and sustenance pit us against."
John Evans - Collage
In the same envelope with this collage was a letter about the meeting at Franklin Furnace and the upset regarding some mail art not exhibited in the recent show (all mail art shows are non-juried and open) and kerfuffle with administrator Dr. Ronny Cohen. John says "Last Friday, & the one before, there were panel discussions on MA @ a thing called Artists Talk On Art. Ronny was the moderator on the 2nd panel but she was deposed before she had a chance to take over. When she tried to defend her position she was shouted down by Ed Higgins who was pretty drunk and she left in a huff. I think she means well but doesn't understand what mail art is about. Oh well, a little chaos can be a good thing now and then."
Monday, October 25, 2004
Eric Finlay - Envelope
Another envelope from Eric who combined his interest in computer art and mail art in this sending from 1984. Inside are several more photos of monitor and tv screens with cryptic messages on the reverse. One says- "This is from a teaching notebook of 1980. Chelsea (he taught printmaking there) didn't have a computer at the time...so I "simulated" a computer game by cutting up some plastic with a soluble ink on it...and incorporating it in a gravure monotype collage. It got right up the shirt of the people who hated computers!!!"
David Jarvis - Postcard
David Jarvis a.k.a. Dawn Redwood sent this card from London in 1984. On the reverse he thanks me for the documentation for the "Peace In The World Or The World In Pieces" show shown as part of the Whitechapel Open Exhibition that year.
Vittore Baroni - Art Postale!
An assembling version of Vittore's esteemed publication from 1984. Including the work of Mark Pawson,Rastorfer,Rockola,Artpool,Minoy and Jupitter-Larsen.
Al Ackerman - Envelope
Envelope sent from San Antonio in 1985 by Al "Blaster" Ackerman. A Harry Bates Club Production. Inside is a letter and some flyers - one announces "The Violent Moron Returns" and goes on to say " Dr. Al Ackerman hits the streets of San Antonio to sell his holy old shoes to the highest bidder! Between the hours of noon and 3p.m. Mainly in the lot of the HEB Shopping Center 2- Look for him in his 89 cent "Ugly teeth" and bedroom slippers."
Creative Thing - Postcard
A postcard made to commemorate the 1984 Olypics held in Los Angeles. Stamp design and rubber carving by Creative Thing ( a.k.a. Leslie Caldera ). On the reverse leslie has written- "Posted from the Olympic Post Office, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA. I salute the British Olympic Champions! Zola Budd too!!"
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Michael Hyatt - Documentation
Documentation in form of a weekly diary/calendar for the year 1984 on the theme of Orwell, Music and the Olympics that was taking place in Los Angeles that year.
David Dellafiora - Envelope
Envelope from Australia containing photocopies for Chester Carlson project I did in 1998. Also flyers for "Wipe" David's ongoing assembling booklet of tissue paper related work.
Artist's Trading Cards
This project started by M. Vanci Stirnemann in Switzerland. Each participant asked to sent 20 cards and set sent out to all. Top left clockwise - Holger Minotto, Cesar Figneirede, Arno Arts? and Rodleen & Ed Giecek.1996.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Robin Crozier - Collaged Book
I sent Robin this book when he moved to the Lake District in late 90's. Some weeks later it arrived back transformed and full of collages , mostly from a children's book called the Hebrew Postman.
K. Frank Jensen - Documentation
Page from documentation by Denmark's K. Frank Jensen of The Playing Card Transformation project. This page features cards by Louise Heroux, Barbara Hilmer-Schroer,Dietmar Vollmer and Henning Mittendorf. 1998.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Mail Art meeting - Tate gallery
Here for the Running Man (Dennis Banks) project, we see myself,Ryosuke Cohen, Shozo Shimamoto and Mayumi Handa outside the Tate (Britain) gallery in Aug. 1990.
Mail art meeting - California
Photo kindly sent to me by Creative Thing (Leslie Caldera) squatting in front of fence. Others from left to right are - the late Lon Speigelman, Judith Hoffberg, ?, Angela, Johnny Tostado, John Evans, ?, Lee Speigelman, Peter Kusterman and behind car it's Skooter. August 1992.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Dave Zack - Postcard
Hand drawn(pen & ink) postcard from Dave Zack in Tepoztlan in Mexico. 1983. On the reverse he writes - " An incredible Nut document has come to us, Libel for Libellus, forwarded by Hetty Huisman, the publisher of this elegant volume, Void Distributors, Amsterdam. This collection of correspodence relating to a llittle old dutch lady's odysseyiam jaunt around America in search of Pure Essense of Nut...."
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Serge Segay - Self portrait
Serge was a mail art pioneer in the former U.S.S.R. when such things were repressed. Serge had not access to photo-copiers so reduced to using his body as a printing press! Mid 1980's.
Tim Drage - Object
A single record sent from Wales with the address written on the vinyl. It plays still but a bit crackly! Late 90's.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Henning Mittendorf - Trading card
One of the first "Artist's trading cards" made in 1985 by Art/Life in Hamden CT. On the reverse it says-
"AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK. Mail-art is much more than the established traditional artworld. It consists of an international network which brings more friendship, individualism, sensibilty, freedom, love, hope, confidence, tolerance, pluralism, democracy, social balance and peace into the world and into everyone involved."