Mail Art

Mail Art

Mail Art Definition

Art of the letter, artistically inpired letters, objects, parcels, postacrds sent through the mail, decorated envelopes, artists mail, art postal artifacts (also mailart).

“Words are only postage stamps delivering the object for you to unwrap.” - George Bernard Shaw

Mail art, decorated envelopes and postcards sent through mail, often poke fun at traditional art exhibition and consumption practices, by using the mailbox as a museum.

Mail artists trade all manner of postable objects and art, including illustrated envelopes, faux postage, zines, artist trading cards, three-dimensional objects, and artistamps. And in order to exchange these items, mail artists form mail art networks. Some of these networks are small, only a few artists at a time, and some are very extensive, with international calls for submissions. Mail artists create take-offs, homages, and dodges of all forms of postal material, envelopes, stamps, postcards. And they become linked by their work into a group linked through their works they are collectively referred to as a Mail Art Network or the Eternal Network.

Mail art networks are usually informal and temporary, with calls for work on a specific theme often issued and publicized and then documented as mail art, artist books, zines or some other medium. Mail art is also a fun way for artists to communicate with each other internationally. Their development was influenced by other art movements, often political ones, but chiefly by Dad and Fluxus.

Mail art lends itself to political and anti-establishment art and movements. It seeks to subsume and subvert the power of the post office, and plays on the notion that mail and stamps are truly an outgrowth of state control. Mail art is often referred to as commerce-free exchange, art that has no high price tag and is sent and received in generous and collaborative spirit. Mail artists often say that “senders receive” since one cannot expect to get mail art without making and sending it themselves.

Although early mail art was, in part, a snub of gallery art, there is a significant trend bringing more and more mail art and artistamps to the art consuming public at museums and art galleries.

Mail art has a history that is as long as postal history itself. Some mail artists claim that the first mailed art was created by Cleopatra, when she mailed herself to Julius Caesar in a carpet. But, the first true mail art may be postal stationary, though postal stationary is now considered its own genre of postal work outside of mail art. The first piece of postal stationary was created by artist William Mulready in 1840 for the launch of the Penny Post in England. His work, widely mocked for its look, was a printing press reproduction on the first stock of pre-paid postage wrappers.

Envelopes are frequent sites of creative use of the mails, but postal stationary is not to be confused with other uses of envelopes. In addition to the illustrations of postal stationary, philatelists spend a great deal of time collecting and studying envelopes carrying first day issue postage stamps, often referred to as first day covers. Pictorial envelopes that exists outside of the genre of first day covers, and they have been created for many years, and within the postal services of many nations. But, pictorial envelopes have never seen the return of their early popularity since the rise of the post card. Picture postcards came into being in 1869, when, in October of that year, they were first offered for sale at all post offices in Austria-Hungary.

It is hard to say precisely when mail art as we understand it now first started. It obviously could not have begun without the introduction of the postage stamp, and in this way, postal history, philately, mail art, and artists’ stamps are inextricably linked. Some writers site the Futurists, artists working before WWI, who created postcards, writing paper and envelopes to advertise themselves like commercial companies did at the time. These materials were not, however, sent through the mails.

The Dadaists are also frequently linked to mail art. Their love of play and subversion of artistic pretensions, systems, and politics has been a huge influence on mail art. They did use the postal system for sending work to one another, though they did not play with the postal system itself. Marcel Duchamp was a forerunner of mail art when he defaced a postcard of the Mona Lisa, ‘L.H.O.O.Q’ in 1919.

But, though these artists set the stage for the emergence of mail art, the true father of the movement is artist Ray Johnson. In the 1950’s he began to create the New York Correspondence School, where he and a collection of other artists created perhaps the first mail art network. Also by the 1950’s a European artists’ group known as the Nouveau Realists were working with mail art to tackle new issues in contemporary art. In Europe, the group known as the Nouveau Realistes was addressing radical new issues. In Japan, artists would eventually work under the name Fluxus began to stretch the boundaries of art, and were using mail art to do it.

Now, mail art networks are extensive and multiple, they exist in dozens of countries throughout the world. The internet, zines, and even galley shows, connect artists to each other and to the larger world. It is a 'movement' with no membership and no leaders.

Mailart related: rubber stamps, stamping, embossing, applique, fabric accessories, scrapbooking, postcards, printing, stickers, paper ephemera, digital printing, address databases, commercial printing

General Mail Art Resources

The Electronic Museum of Mail Art (EMMA)

Your guide and director at EMMA is Chuck Welch a.k.a. Crackerjack Kid. EMMA is mail art's first electronic mailbox museum where the address is the art, the web is your key, and admission is free.

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Intro/intro3.html

And here’s Welch’s “External Network” page:

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Library/eternalnetwork.html

International Union of Mail Artists

The International Union of Mail Artists (see IUOMA external link) is a group of mail-art artists individually practicing in several countries. The IUOMA started in 1988 and has now their own online forum. The I.U.O.M.A. is a Union that was invented in the Netherlands by Ruud Janssen in 1988 and no rules. Everybody who is active in mail art and hears about the Union can become a member just by saying so. About 300 mail artists reacted in a year, and official membership cards were made, even an official Union Magazine was published. http://www.iuoma.org/

Artpool

An artists resource site from Budapest, They have a mail art collection that consists of art works that have been sent to Artpool by post or via fax.

http://www.artpool.hu/MailArt/MAonline.html

Mailartist.Com

A site from an individual mail artist with multiple links and information.

http://www.mailartist.com/kiyotei/index.html

Mailart.org

Self-description of the site reads as follows: “In addition to housing the world's largest online database of mail art calls, this site also features syndicated posts from many mail art blogs, and is home to the Small Art Project.”

http://www.mailart.org/

Nervousness.org

An organization of artists who create LMAOs or Land Mail Art Objects, which are then swapped by post.

http://vb.nervousness.org/

Art in the Mail

A curriculum on mail art for grades 7-12, lots of interesting links and very good overview for teachers.

http://art.net/~kiyotei/new1/artinthemail.pdf

Sztuka-Fabryka

A site from Belgium with archives, and work on a mail art encyclopedia. This site also includes a link to their yahoo ground mailing list.

http://www.sztuka-fabryka.be/mail-art-01.htm

Subjugated Knowledges

A publication from The University of Iowa Museum of Art, The University of Iowa Libraries, Alternative Traditions in the Contemporary Arts: Subjugated Knowledges and the Balance of Power by Estera Milman with contributions by Ken Friedman, Stephen Perkins, and Owen Smith. This work is divided into chapters that detail Fluxus, Artifacts of the External Network

http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/atca/subjugated/two_4.htm

Mail Art Historical Resources

Online Library: Reflections on Mail Art

Links to thirteen articles on mail art, artistamps, etc.

http://www.terra.es/personal3/tartarug/library/ref000.htm

Fortune City

This site is created by Ruud Janssen, Netherlands, to publish the Thesis written by Michael Lumb, England. The first concept of this site contains the texts of his thesis. Lateron graphics and layout will be updated. This covers mail art from 1955-1995. Tons of information, laid out by chapters including Fluxus, Johnson and Duchamp.

http://fortunecity.com/victorian/palace/62/index.html

Mail Art 1955-1995: Democratic Art as Social Structure

Here is another link to Michael Lumb’s thesis work.

http://www.vorticeargentina.com.ar/escritos/mail_art_1955_to_1995_00.html

The Early Days of Mail Art

Text of the article “The Early Days of Mail Art: an historical overview” by Ken Friedman:

http://www.terra.es/personal3/tartarug/library/ref011.htm

Mail Art and Networking Magazines (1970-1980)

An article from the folks at the Zine Resource Guide by Stephen Perkins

http://www.zinebook.com/resource/perkins/perkins8.html

Mail Artist Interviews

Cracker Jack Kid and Honoria Interview

Full text of the interview “Introducing Mail Art: A Karen Elliot Interview with Cracker Jack Kid and Honoria” from Postmodern Culture.

http://www.dragonflydream.com/Interview.html

Mail Art Interviews

Ruud Janssen interview project, with multiple interviews posted online with prominent members of the mail art community.

http://www.iuoma.org/interview.html

Keith Bates

An email interview with Keith Bates from the T.A.M./I.U.O.M.A website of Ruun Janssen from 1995

http://www.iuoma.org/bates.html

Ray Johnson

Ray Johnson at Artpool

http://www.artpool.hu/RayJohnson.html

Ray Johnson Remembered

An article titled Ray Johnson Remembered by Vittore Baroni.

http://www.terra.es/personal3/tartarug/library/ref009.htm

Ray Johnson at EMMA

This special Ray Johnson gallery contains Cracker Jack Kid’s narrative of Ray Johnson’s art and life, a song by Cracker Jack Kid and a gallery of images.

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Gallery/galleryjohnson.html

Wikipedia’s Ray Johnson Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Johnson

Ray Johnson Estate

The estate of Ray Johnson is represented exclusively by Richard L. Geigen and Company.

http://www.rayjohnsonestate.com/

Fluxus

Art Encyclopedia on Dada and Fluxus

This site aims to become the definitive and most effective guide to museum-quality fine art on the Internet. They have compiled a comprehensive index of every artist represented at hundreds of museum sites, image archives, and other online resources. They only provide references to sites on the World Wide Web where artists' works can be viewed online.

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/dada.html

ArtLex on Fluxus

Definitions for more than 3,600 terms used in discussing art / visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and cross-references.

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/f/fluxus.html

A Child’s History of Fluxus

Article by Daniel Higgins on Art Not Art site.

http://www.artnotart.com/fluxus/dhiggins-childshistory.html

Open Letter to Fluxus

An open letter from Fluxus artist Allen Burkoff to first and second generation Fluxus artists.

http://www.nutscape.com/fluxus/homepage/

Fluxus Portal

A Fluxus portal for all Fluxus information on the internet, also maintained by Allen Burkoff.

http://www.fluxus.org/

Fluxlist

This site has listings for Alan Kaprow, Fluxus artist and Rutgers faculty member, as well as mail art maker.

http://www.fluxus.org/FLUXLIST/kaprow.htm

Individual Mail Art Projects/Calls for Submissions

Fan Mail

Based in County Mayo, Ireland, Fan Mail has both a long list of previous projects, dating back to 1995, and a call for submissions. They also do other fine arts work and have a press.

http://www.redfoxpress.com/mailart2.html

Animals in Mail Art

A mail art show, exhibited at the zoo in Hamburg, Germany in 1998. Many countries submissions listed.

http://www.crosses.net/merlin/ani98/index.html

Alyonka Mail Art Project

Creative people from around the world are invited to make artworks with the image of Alyonka, a well-known Russian chocolate brand. Works are collected by Ivan Zemtsov and posted to him. The first "Alyonka" show was presented to public in Yoshkar-Ola Museum of Fine Arts in October 2006. But the project is still ongoing!

http://alyonkamailartproject.blogspot.com/

Confess Your Sins

This mail art project is looking for audio taped confessions (regular cassette size tape or CD)...also wanted mail art and/or written confessions - work submitted will be posted online and possibly used for additional art projects. Audio will be used for exhibition. All participants will receive documentation of exhibition and/or notice of absolution in the form of mail art. If you want your confession to remain anonymous please do not include your contact information or indicate. Work is posted weekly.

http://confessyoursins.blogspot.com/

Field Study International

Field Study members have been involved in a variety of projects, including group shows, performances, installations, bookworks, sound art, solo activities and community work. Each year members send 100 A5 pages as their contribution to the Field Report; in turn they receive a copy of the report. This publication - 'The Journal of Field Study International' - is assembled and distributed by David Dellafiora who also places it within archives (such as Artpool), libraries and collections. The current list of members runs to over 200.

http://www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/sketchBook_p3.html

and their links to mail art projects:

http://www.mailart.lu/index.htm

The More I Change

This is a mail art exhibition based on the idea that the more dynamic you think you are, the more likely the opposite is true. Calls for entries have been posted at various web sites and mail art groups. Direct mailings soliciting admissions have also been sent.

http://themoreichange.blogspot.com/

Red Ant/Your Deepest Fear

What are you afraid of? What terrifies you? What keeps you awake or makes your skin crawl? What do you dread? Send a postcard of the one thing that most frightens you. No deadline.

http://www.postmarkarts.com/index.html

Individual Mail Art Artists and Mail Arts Groups

The Spare Room/Fluxzone

The Spare Room’s site dealing with mail art. This one is fascinating. There is a long exegesis/rumination on the nature of mail art as a subversive art movement within the underground, descriptions of Matt Ferranto’s quest to create a mail art archive and a project site as well, called the dead white letter project:

http://spareroom.org/mailart/mailart.html

Dodo/Dada Arte Postale Network

An Italian network of mail artists and artistamps producers, many with their own pages, membership is required to post projects.

http://dododada.ning.com/

Chuck Welch/The Crackerjack Kid

An introduction to Chuck Welch aka The Crackerjack Kid, from the EMMA website.

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Intro/intro4.html

Shimamoto Shozo

A Japanese mail artist.

http://perso.orange.fr/articide.com/gutai//fr/ss.htm

John Held Jr.

American mail artist featured on Mailartist.com with links to mail art archives and essays.

http://www.mailartist.com/johnheldjr/

Dragonfly Dream

Detailed we site from mail artist Alice Kitselman from New Mexico. Also contains information on artistamps

http://www.dragonflydream.com/MailArt.html

Envelope Collective

The Envelope Collective is an ongoing collaborative experiment in art that uses the transportation of mail as a medium. The website serves as an online gallery for those pieces that we receive. It was started by two fellows named Garrett & Adam who think that art is one of the best things in the whole wide world ever.

http://www.envelopecollective.com/

Mailart Archives on the Web

http://alyonkamailartproject.blogspot.com/ http://confessyoursins.blogspot.com/

Mail Art Shows

Reeperbahn 1997

For this mail art installation „Reeperbahn 1997", which was specially conceived for the ElbArt 97 inside the old tunnel under the river Elbe, they have asked their colleagues worldwide to work over a view of the Reeperbahn that is more than 100 years old, contributing in this way to the subject „Reeperbahn" and everything related to it.

http://www.crosses.net/elbmail/gallerye.html

Multiplicity/Multiplicidad

Interactive Arts and Media blog post about “Multiplicity/Multiplicidad” an Argentinian-curated show of mail art and artistamp archives at SOMArts in San Francisco, held in July 2007, and featuring Interactive Media’s own Andy Oleksiuk. This show was a major retrospective of mail art and artistamps. It included hundreds of international artists and performers such as Jas Felter, Anna Banana and John Held Jr

http://imamp.colum.edu/blogs/?p=1977

And a Youtube video of the same show with artists discussing their work and the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpwZRTZShvY

Axis of Evil

Axis of Evil was an international exhibition in 2005 featuring 47 stamp artists from eleven countries, thematically peeking into the depths of sin in search of the evils in our world and culture. Curated by Chicago-based artist Michael Hernandez de Luna, the exhibition includes work by artists from Russia, Mexico, England, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, France, Canada, the former Yugoslavia, Uruguay and the U.S.A. “Axis of Evil” made international headlines In 2004 when the U.S. Secret Service investigated a Chicago artist at Columbia College Chicago’s Glass Curtain Gallery. http://web3.colum.edu/press_releases/archives/005311.php An article from the Columbia Chronicle discussing the controversy surrounding the Axis of Evil exhibition. http://web3.colum.edu/press_releases/archives/005311.php

MOMA/Dada Exhibit

In 2006 there was an artistamp and mail art show and art event at MOMA as part of a large Dada exhibition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/arts/design/16dada.html?ex=1308110400&en=c53fd4cefbfab0f8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Art Through the Mail: The External Network

Description of a show at University of California, Santa Barbara Special Collections Library.

http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/mailart.html

Mail Art Literature

• Correspondance Art (see artistamp literature)

Mailart Web Resources

Plymouth Fine Arts Links Page

A site created by individual artist Paul Ramsay that has a fantastic links section on Mail Art. Follow this down the rabbit hole.

http://www.plymouthfineart.co.uk/WhatIsMailArt.html

The Open Directory Project on Mail Art Links Page

The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors.

http://dmoz.org/Arts/Visual_Arts/Mail_Art_and_Artistamps/

Electronic Museum of Mail Art (EMMA) Links Page

EMMA is mail art's first electronic mailbox museum where the address is the art, the web is your key, and admission is free.

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/Links/links1.html

Mailart Related

• Rubber Stamps, Stamping, embossing, applique, fabric accessories, scrapbooking, postcards, printing, stickers, paper ephemera, digital printing, address databases, commercial printing,

Mailart Wiki (Interactive)

Create a mail art piece. Affix correct postage. Mail to this address: Mailart Wiki (Interactive) Columbia College Chicago Interactive Arts and Media 600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Make several more mail art pieces,; make each one slightly different. Mail to several friends. Don't forget to mail one to yourself.

Look for mail art shows on the web. Find a show with a theme or no theme at all. Create an appropriate maila rt piece nad mail it by the deadline.