Mail Art News #48: Mini-Interview with Julie Matevish and Weekly Review
 |
| Camera Smile Test, Julie Matevish, 2021 |
Thomas Brown (TB): How and when did you realize you were a mail artist?
Julie Matevish (JM): 2013/14. The how is a long and unpleasant story.
TB: Well you don't have to go into all the details if you don't want to. Feel free though if you do. How would you describe your style of mail art? And let me see what I can remember about your creative output, from our postal exchanges. You're into collages, rubber stamps, visual poetry, word-play (puns), and music.
JM: I reluctantly joined Facebook in 2009, I found all the people I grew up with, caught up with them then got bored with it. Back then there were interest groups/subjects lists you could "follow" for music, books, art styles, etc... My career involves sitting in front of a computer all day, fixing images and text to various formats depending on what kind of press or process is used for the printing output. Digital images do not impress me at all, I deal in them, just another tool. I liked seeing people using art supplies on paper. ATCs, I suck at small format, so, not for me to enjoy making. "Happy Mail" no thanks, I'm not interested in scrapbooking supply swap or bored housewives with a dream. Mixed Media, by 2000, everybody just copying the same shit out of magazines and books.
I stumbled onto Mail Art, probably the same way most people do. Basically, it seemed like a good way to challenge myself to use up all of the art supplies I buy, yes the scrapbooking shit, stickers, embellishments, etc. that all of the Arts and Crafts stores sell. I also get a LOT of goodies from the printing industry that I always think, I can use that somehow, someday... and the ephemera collected over the years. Pretty sure I don't have a style, I like to use the cutaways and scraps from other projects. I guess my graphic design education = me putting images with words, I mean, really, that's what it is. I tend to think of it as an assignment, what can I come up with using just this or that.
 |
| Show Me Your Books, 2021 |
JM: I am not on IUOMA, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or anything else, one is enough. I'm not selling anything and I loathe self promotion.
TB: What's your favorite type of music to listen to? And does this influence your visual creations any? I know the last set you sent to me was inspired by the Rolling Stones. And a previous piece you sent me had some hand lettering that reminded me of psychedelic music posters.
JM: Rock'n'Roll. Alphonse Mucha, Art Nouveau, Rock Posters from 1960's & 70's, Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, etc...
I used to get into heated debates with my college professors on the subject, the only lesson I learned: stick to your guns. I had an awful lot of fun decorating those envelope backs, I suppose that's what it comes down to, doing what you like to do. I like seeing what people come up with. I think the most successful mail artists - you know who it's from, right at the mail box, just by the envelope, don't even have to read the return address. I think the best quality is from Japan (Technique, style and originality. Quality work.) And humor is my favorite, ALWAYS.
 |
| envelope art from 2023 |
TB: What would you like to see more of in the mail art community?
JM: Less bitching about the cost of postage. More making and sending.
The "CMYK" pieces - for Zine in a Box by Gina Geo, probably the quickest mail art that I ever whipped out.
 |
| from the CYMK series, 2018 |
"Security Cats" took the longest to make, I used one of my Grandmothers' embroidery patterns, Cut shapes from insides of envelopes, did you know, like paper bank checks, the patterns used for bills (paper billing statements) are standard in the (printing) industry, too! Sharpie marker used to draw on and DMC floss sewn into for whiskers.
 |
| two Security Cats from the set of ten, 2019 |
"Nothing" for Crackerjack Kid (Chuck Welch). On super old perf'ed and gummed labels, I have tons of it, it's always nice to be at the right place, at the right time when an institution / business cleans their office supplies out.
 |
| Nothing, 2019 |
I like to use things up, that would normally go in the trash, or the recycling.
 |
| collage, 2023 |
 |
| watercolor experiment from 1993; mailed out in 2021 |
Mail Art News - Weekly Review 7/26/2023
 |
T. Brown, ink on cardstock, July 2023 |
If you look into the history of mail art, you get the vague idea from various sources that Ray Johnson invented it, but there's more to the story. Who knows when the first decorated piece of mail was sent, but the Art Cover Exchange (ACE) was founded in 1935 with the goal of combining correspondence, education, friendship, philately, and art. Here are some early examples and you can read more about it here (pdf).
ACE members are still active and every year, they bombard one lucky recipient with hundreds of pieces of mail. Egads! What would you do if a thousand letters showed up over the course of one or two weeks? They probably don't teach you what to do with such a massive amount of mail in the Mail Art class at Stanford University.
If you're in a learning mood, you can also watch The Great Postal Heist, a meandering documentary about hostile work environments and questionable management practices at the United States Postal Service. If that triggers your PTSD too much, from having suffered through your own fair share of bonehead managers and government bureaucracy, you can navigate back to the relative safety of mail art, by checking out Pam's mail art videos on YouTube. Pam got her portrait stamp from Adam R.! And Heather Wilkie got her portrait stamp too. Jon Foster reminisces on his pre-mail art correspondence activities.
A new issue of Circulaire 132 is available. Here are some of the main take-aways from the Zoom Mail Art Group (ZMAG) meeting on July 19, 2023:
- Perforator from India was discussed, though no one is sure how to actually order it and shipping from India could be costly.
- ZMAG rubber stamp by Sticker Dude and Adam R. looks good.
- August 19th will be the three year anniversary for ZMAG.
- There's also a good chance that Diana Hale will be opening a small mail art museum in Virginia at some point in the future.
- ZMAG is looking for presenters, so if you have a topic that you would like to present, let me know. I can forward along to the group admins.
 |
| work from Chantal, documented by Nick Tauro, Jr |
 |
| Circuit Flow from Keith S. Chambers, aka Amalgamated Confusion |
 |
| incoming from Tim Collapse |
 |
| Add and pass? I don't think so, Tim. This one is great as-is. Not adding. Not passing. Keeping. |
US Postage stamps used to be a million percent more interesting. I need some real artists to get in there and submit some designs. Learn more about the process here. A set of postage stamps acknowledging the existence of mail art would be great.
Also, are you looking for a list of all Mail Art News blog posts to send to a friend? Here you go!
Mail Art News #46: Weekly Review
Mail Art News #45: An Overview of Cascadia Artpost
Mail Art News #44: hashtag mailart
Mail Art News #43: Mail Art, Music, and Movies with Ariel Greenwood
Mail Art News #42: Weekly Review
Mail Art News #41
Mail Art News #40: I Want
Mail Art News #39
Mail Art News #38: Triumph of the Eclectic
Mail Art News #37: Rubber Stamps + Mail Art = Yes
Mail Art News #36: Just Your Standard Mail Art News
Mail Art News #35: Mail Art Saved His Life
Mail Art News #34: Selbstporträt
Mail Art News #33: Pam Chatfield's Whimsical Surrealism
Mail Art News #32: xyz ✉
Mail Art News #31: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Mail Art News #30: The Mail Art Must Flow
Mail Art News #29: Forward to the Past
Mail Art News #28: It's ok everyone, I'm a mail artist
Mail Art News #27: Mailers Want
Mail Art News #26: Journey to the Mail Art Dimension
Mail Art News #25: The Water Seems Inviting
Mail Art News #24: Incoming mail 4-26-2023
Mail Art News #23: One Question with Adam Roussopoulos
Mail Art News #22: Saying Yes or Noooo to the Nooscope
Mail Art News #21: Fame, Etiquette, and Isolated Places with ChatGPT
Mail Art News #20: American Visionary Art Museum's Cardworks
Mail Art News #19: What's Out There?
Mail Art News #18: Reader Comments
Mail Art News #17: Incoming 4/19/2023, Fear No Mail Art
Mail Art News #16: Aha! Editor Thomas Brown Tells All
Mail Art News #15: Carl Chew Interviews Himself Using ChatGPT??
Mail Art News #14: Kansas Correspondence School with Coco Muchmore
Mail Art News #13: Mail Art Museum
Mail Art News #12: Incoming 4-12-2023
Mail Art News #11: Hammering on the Door of Art History, with Nonlocal Variable
Mail Art News #10: Reader Comments, April 2023
Mail Art News #9: Interview with New York Correspondence School Member, Mick Boyle
Mail Art News #8: More A.I.M.A.
Mail Art News #7: Mail Art'ificial Intelligence
Mail Art News #6: Incoming April 5, 2023
MAIL ART NEWS #5: Stardust and Water, with Adam Blackshaw
Mail Art News #4: 100 Months of Mail Art (and still going)
Mail Art News #3: Portrait Project
Mail Art News #2: Atte Ourie
Mail Art News #1
 |
| From the Archives: incoming from Lucky Pierre, 2017 |
printing and sending a copy of the archive list (how very meta) and it occurs to me that it makes a mysteriously coy table of contents - See You in the Mail, the novel
ReplyDeleteSee You in the Mail is a good name for a novel. Or a mail art documentary.
DeleteAha! Another issue! (And it looks like I have yet ANOTHER awaiting me, too.) How did you meet Julie M...especially if she's not on IUOMA or other social media? (Oh wait...Facebook. Never mind.) Interesting interview once again. CHEERS!
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I don't remember exactly how I met her online. I guess Facebook makes sense, but I feel like she was on IUOMA at one point? Hmmm...not sure. Good to see you here. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Delete