Mail Art News #50: Weekly Review, August 10, 2023


old-timey mail art from 1909 (not by Ray Johnson) 


As I compile this week's review of mail art, as seen from my corner of the mail art universe, I'm listening to Jennie Hinchcliff's podcast Senders Receive. FYI, Jennie has also co-authored a mail art book called Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art (2009), which I am just beginning to take a look at here at the Mail Art News headquarters library. Also looking at Chuck Welch's Eternal Network: A Mail Art Anthology (1995). I'm kind of a slow reader of books, but a pretty quick reader of websites, which is somewhat strange if I think about it. Possibly this has to do with being constantly tested on reading comprehension of books in the local school system. Speaking of local, I was doing an internet search for "mail art" Baltimore and I found one of my works documented on Jayne B. Lyons' blog. This got me thinking...a blog post on Baltimore mail art is now called for, so you can put that on your radar. 

Thomas Brown, 2019

Thomas Brown, 2019


Looking to interact with your local mail art scene? Throw a mail art party. Or if you're looking to interact with a larger mail art scene, do a mail art call. Mailart.it shared the following incoming geometric art from Katerina Mandarik. 

Somehow I found this other mail art call, Faces of Jesus from 2012. I'm not religious. Spiritual yes. In my mind, Jesus represents a collective consciousness of the Akashic records, a giant database of experiences, possibly spanning the entire universe that we can tap-into as a resource for personal spiritual benefit and the benefit of all. Far out. 

In that sense, to me, Jesus need not be represented in any particular way, but the traditional way is the bearded 30-something from the Mediterranean / Europe. The Ethiopian Jesus has dark skin. And there's a Korean Jesus. 
 

Here's a funny one from the internet era. It's a meme. 


Anywho, back to the mail art. Here's a fun one from IUOMA. Looks like an envelope and a sound mixing station? Maybe some 1970s furniture or kitchen vibes? Whatever it is, I like it. 

incoming from Tanushree V. documented by Lau Wilmet 
 

A few more form IUOMA that I enjoyed: 

incoming from David Stafford documented by borderlinegrafix 


incoming from Nick Tauro, Jr. documented by Dragan Jukic


incoming from Giovanni Donaudi documented by Mikel Untzilla

Incoming mail: 

incoming from José Nogueira


incoming from Monster A Go-Go


incoming from Richard C.


incoming from Peter Wilson


incoming from Peter Wilson



Outgoing mail: 

Three pieces scheduled for outgoing, by Mail Art News employee of the month, Ariel Greenwood. Definitely deserves a raise. Notice the rubber stamp by Adam R.'s etsy shop that was gifted to Ariel by a friend in the local mail art scene. Small world, ay?


outgoing work by Mail Art News media specialist Ariel Greenwood


outgoing work by Mail Art News media specialist Ariel Greenwood


outgoing work by Mail Art News media specialist Ariel Greenwood


I did send out a handful of envelopes over the course of this week. Here's one I sent to The Netherlands probably last week, as documented by Reina Huges. Thank you for documenting! 




From the Archives: 

from Jac Mail, Oct 2021

It's really cool when people make custom rubber stamps from their own drawings. 


Mail Art News Radar: 
  • a look at Baltimore mail art
  • possible mail art-related story writing with mailartmagic (not AI generated). What fantastic creatures will show up? And what adventures will they have? It all starts with a letter. 
  • you sending an email to mailartnews@gmail.com 

Comments

  1. sarahAugust 13, 2023 at 11:12 AM

    Love the Jesus mail art call - made me think of a favorite of mine from a local to me artist, one of his murals is on the building where I work... https://artistjasonjones.com/product/trick-or-treat/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting.

Popular posts from this blog

Mail Art News # 67: Jimmy Hackney

Image
  drawing by  Jimmy Hackney Thomas Brown (TB): Hi Jimmy. Your profile on IUOMA says you've been a mail artist since 2023. How did you learn about mail art? Jimmy Hackney (JH): I was dropping off some art at a friend’s ( Steve O. Black ) house for an upcoming event. We began talking about some of the projects he was working on. Then, he comes to one of his storage bins and asks me,  “Have you ever heard of mail art?” I said, “No, what is it?” He pulled out fascinating pieces of art. My mind was completely blown. I could not believe that this kind of thing existed. I asked, “People send you these!!?!” It was like hearing music for the first time. He told me that he was a member of IUOMA and suggested that I join. So, I did. He said, “Find someone to send art to.” “Easier said than done, right?” As it turns out, it was indeed that easy. I picked out an address and let it rip. I can’t remember who the first person was that I sent mail to. I sent out approximately 20 at that ...
Read more

Mail Art News # 68: FEB 22, 2024

Image
Greetings from the Moon from Francis Lammé   I just had the idea the other day that I'd like Mail Art News to be a little more like MAD Magazine , so why not eh? You might see more goofy drawings in the future.  goofy drawing by T. Brown, FEB 2024 And with that, let us take a look at the incoming mail.  from  Francis Lammé from Bancks from Jimmy Hackney from  Jimmy Hackney from RCBZ Outgoing: I'm going to buckle down and send some mail art to Stephanie Lentz Morrison today. I'm gonna do it! This one will be in there, along with some other stuff I made and some other stuff I didn't make. T. Brown, Feb 2024 Don't forget about Pam's mail art vlog .  Book alert! Tentatively A Convenience has released the following publication, full of memories, pictures, and accompanying text (87 pages). Here it is on Amazon . And there's a Baltimore connection. If you've ever lived in Baltimore and maybe you went to MICA or had any artistic leanings, you probably visited...
Read more

Mail Art News #62: January 1, 2024

Image
wuh-pish, wuh-pish , some bizarre North Carolinian inner hellscape collage from Jon Foster , 2023 It's 2024 here on Earth according to the common calendar used by the majority of humans on Earth. Does anybody really know what time it is? It could in fact really be the year 13.7 billion or even 26.7 billion depending on who you ask at NASA about the age of the universe. While that's being worked out in detail, I'm going with the year 2024. Enter the Dragon .  I'm happy to report that I have a perforating machine now, a birthday present from Mail Art News media specialist, Ariel Greenwood . Get your own here . It works well enough for my purposes, but there's no precise way to line up exactly where the holes will be punched. You just have to feel it out with your eyes each time. The AI generated intergalactic postage stamps look pretty good. You may have noticed my absence for several weeks. That's because November and December were extra busy this year at my day ...
Read more