MAIL ART NEWS

postcards for mailing, T. Brown, 4-22-2023 Things go round on the internet. Around 2004 or 2005, in an online art group called the World Artist Network on Myspace, we somehow got to talking about memetics. The exponential growth of online memes began shortly thereafter. And then somewhere around 2011, I learned of the term "noosphere " which is the sphere of human consciousness and mental activity in regard to its influence on the biosphere . And then I heard nothing more about in my own little corner of the world until April 20, 2023, when it showed up along with a new term -- nooscope, in an article titled  Earth’s Ultimate War: A Battle to Control the Noosphere. Looking further into the topic, I see articles from 2016 talking about this nooscope, a device for monitoring the noosphere. Some of the articles in the corporate media outlets are predictably dismissive, yet other sites approach it with genuine interest. The website  https://nooscope.ai/ discusses the topic from ...

Carl Chew Finally I was able to connect with prolific artist Carl Chew about his early usage of artificial intelligence in mail art. See his comments and AI generated artistamps below, as well as his use of ChatGPT to learn more about himself, which is sort of like an interview. Plus some bonus content provided by Adam Roussopoulos . Links to Carl's websites are included at the very end of this post. Really, take a look. So much to see there.  -T. Brown - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Hello Mail Art News, Yes, I have been using AI as a tool in my mailart pursuits since August of 2022. It was then that I read how Jason Allen in Colorado had won a prize in a local art show and was roundly criticized publicly.  I remembered how I was criticized  in 1983 for beginning to use the computer in my own work. So, I decided to give AI a try myself and went to the platform Night Cafe. At first I s...

   Prepress  Stream of conscience word salad from looking at things on the desk & screen, then highlighted a word per line, which turned into a not-so-coded message.  TB: Hi Nonlocal Variable. How did you get into mail art? And your name indicates that you're into programming. To what extent does your interest in technology influence your art?  NV: I’m a child of the 60s and tend towards the experimentaI and fringe culture. I found mail art through music. I love avant-garde music and writing – John Cage, LaMonte Young, etc., and corresponded directly with musicians. I learned about Fluxus, Ray Johnson and others. Someone sent me a card that said “Post Card Art,” and before I knew it, I was stuck in.  Nonlocal Variable is a quantum mechanics term as well as a coding term. Einstein discovered the idea of “spooky action at a distance,” where 2 particles can communicate simultaneously. Bell’s Theorem solved the math about this by plugging in a “nonlocal var...

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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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: Y ou 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. ...

Let's look further into the history of artificial intelligence as relates to mail art.  July 28, 2022 :  My own contribution, a series of sci-fi / fantasy intergalactic postal service   images generated using Midjourney, posted on Instagram. The set of images features some stamps of planets and other objects, which are, at this time, considered artistamps, as there is currently no known intergalactic mail system. And there's also a package with a planet sticker on it. The intention was that this intergalactic service would be used for regular mail and mail art. The post was also tagged with #mailart.                              Then on  August 5, 2022,  Michael Leigh  started a group on IUOMA called   DALL.E 2 (Formerly Craiyon and Dall.E Mini ) . And there you can see some of the earliest AI mail art creations. I will post a few here, all from August 2022.  1.  ...