MAIL ART NEWS

  screenshot of the Cardworks website In 2022, the Sideshow gift shop at the American Visionary Art Museum put forth a call for Healing & the Art of Compassion themed post cards. The project was called Cardworks and the post cards were then offered for sale at $22 each to benefit the museum, starting September 25, 2022.  Mail Art News recently contacted the AVAM for an update on the project. A representative replied that Cardworks was a short-run project and the museum is not currently taking any submissions, though they may revive it before the end of the Abundance show. All of this is to be determined, but the current set of cards is still up for sale. Many of the cards have sold, but there are still some up for grabs.  It was fun and I hope they do another round. 

Guido Bondioli, 4-15-2023 - - - News from the first half of April 2023 - - - Something about Guido Bondioli's work  calls to me. This one in particular (above), with it's clean white zigzag lines and fluorescent yellow circles against a blue-green backdrop, is quite captivating. Particle motion? Psychedelic experiences? or just a very challenging tennis match? The meaning is up to the viewer. Maybe it's the full moon over the Alps.  This one by David Stanley Aponte , as documented by   Sabela Ba ñ a,  is also quite nice. It too appears to have some stencil work with sprayed paint.  And what is this from Laura Pintus ? I like it. The lady in red-orange and white has made it through some mild depressions and has crossed the sea. No big deal for her. She does it all the time. Seen in the Mail Art Sardinia Facebook group. Ryosuke Cohen's Brain Cell #1177 is ready.  Always exciting!  Thank you Katerina Nikoltsou for letting us know. Also documented by the ...

  In addition to the giant stack of incoming mail art from March and April 2023, here are some comments from actual and potential readers on various social media sites.  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  " What is Mail Art News? Something you are doing?" -M. H.  " Oh, cool! Thank you for letting me know." -L. M.  "Hi Thomas, Thank you for writing the mail art news! I really love to read them!" -R. S.  " Consensus is, we like what you doing, publishing the mail art news." J. P. "Wow this is a FABULOUS post! THANK YOU for sharing it with me. The ChatGPT interview is brilliant and hilarious!" -A. R.  "Great interview!" -T. H. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Thanks all. I will keep at it then. And remember, you are mail art news.  T. Brown 4/20/2003

  From Lunar Mail, a Ray Johnson photo card (and a Clayton Porter card provided for sturdiness) From G. Diaz From Joey Patrickt From Erica Durante From Mark Johnson From Lord Fugue From Mim Golub Add and return from W. S. Paley From Luke McGuff

This is a decorated envelope that was too good to send out, but I will send it out one day.  The administrative coordinator at work is very intuitive. She's always having these aha moments. Super smart. I hope they give her a raise. Well, they should really give all of us a raise to keep up with inflation, but she deserves an extra raise.               Nonlocal Variable: Thanks for making time to tell us more about yourself and Mail Art News. The News is such a great idea. What gave you the inspiration to start it up? TB: Thank you. Thank you. In March / April 2023, I was going through my archives of things I'd made and posted to social media over the years. These were things I decided I could part with, and so the result was that I sent out about 55 pieces of mail domestically and internationally in March / April. I was really drumming it up and in the excitement, I decided: Mail Art News. Going through the archives was a retr...

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...

  Take a look at this everybody. Coco Muchmore recently introduced a class of high schoolers to the world of mail art. In an open call, Coco requested for IUOMA members to send mail to her for the upcoming class. A booklet summarizing the event and a list of participants is included below. When I was in high school, I would have enjoyed this very much. I did attend a free mail art class for adults organized by Mary England in Baltimore some years ago which was fun and I hope there will be more events like this for young people in the future.