Mail Art News #9: Interview with New York Correspondence School Member, Mick Boyle

I am really enjoying these interviews. I get to learn a little bit about the artist and a little bit more about mail art in general. This afternoon, I talked with Mick Boyle via IG chat, while listening to the theme song from The Never Ending Story on my headphones. And forgive me as I figure out the formatting and placement of images on Blogger. Not so easy to get the images exactly where I want them.

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TB: How did you get started in mail art?

MB: I started in 1977. I sent 18 postcards to Ray Johnson (Correspondence between Mick Boyle and RayJohnson).

TB: You sent 18 postcards to Ray Johnson?

MB: Yes and he wrote back and welcomed me to the New York Correspondence School.

TB: How did you get the idea to send to RJ?

MB: I met an art professor who was teaching printmaking. He told me about mail art and RJ, so I thought I'd send him something. The prof's name was Ian Short. His mail art name was Toby A. Nounced, I think.

TB: And you've been involved with mail art ever since?

MB: I've done it on and off since then, but never stopped. [Mick has been blogging since 2004: Mail Art Postcard Exhibition.] Here are some recent things I've made. The radishes are digital. The others are traditional collage with vintage paper.  I have been drawing lots of smoking chickens, this was drawn with a stick dipped in ink. I do digital mail art too. [Also included is a small selection from the thousands of AI artistamps Mick says he made with Midjourney.]


 

 

 





 

 

 



TB: What are your favorite media to send? What kinds of M.A. do you like to get in the mail the most?

MB: I like to get hand made MA instead of printed MA.

TB: What keeps you involved in mail art?

MB: It's fun to get stuff in the mail and I enjoy creating mail art, also nice to give things away and not sell them. My husband Jason also does MA.

TB: That probably keeps the creative energies flowing. Being able to motivate each other creatively.

MB: We do collabs too. [Jason Motsch / Mick Boyle collabs below]


TB: Do you ever tell people that you meet in public that you're a mail artist? If so, what is their reaction?

MB: I do tell some people, but it's not something most people have heard of.

TB: Are there any questions I didn't ask you / topics you would like to include?

MB: International postage is too costly now!

TB: I know. I feel bad about having to exclude international artists so much.


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