The Mail, or Postal Art movement finds it’s roots in the FLUXIS movement of the 1950’s.
Mark Bloch is often thought of as establishing the movement, having founded the The Postal Art Network (PAN) and maintaining archives spanning from 1978-2009. The Mail art movement is notorious for circumventing the traditional art distribution systems of galleries and museums. The movement is decentralized, thoughtful, humorous, warm and seems to ebb and flow depending on the mood of the day.
Today museums keep Mail Art in their archives, understanding that the movement, while still active, remains a distinct part of our cultural memory. The Smithsonian, Getty, and even Oberlin College maintain beautiful collections.
This movement has many voices, multiple aesthetics and various ritual practices. Some works you might keep, others get passed on to the next artist. Sometimes a work is diverted to a museum of cultural institution. Artists like Cracker Jack Kid were really prolific, and it was fun to pass on that work to the next artist. One could go further and trace the origins to the anti war sentiments expressed by earlier Dada and Surrealist artists, artist correspondence and absurdist movements.
Mail, Postal Correspondence and Postcard Arts projects remain part of our contemporary discourse. Artists and cultural workers formally and informally sharing works and ideas via the postal service. Clearly the two dimensionality of digital platforms has offered additional platforms and means of dialogue and collaboration.While this is true, the textural qualities of Mail Art remain crisp and relevant today.
So. What you will need to get started:
Materials to have ready:
- Scissors
- Markers
- Stamps
- Glue
- Envelopes
- Blank paper
- Collage materials
Are you ready to apply for a few shows? Here are a few sources to get you going.
Mail Art Portugal - a well trusted international source
New Museum of Networked Art: Mail Art Call to Artists
Samples from the Postal Art Project of 1992 (Click on image to see a larger version)
Works were exhibited, amended, then sent back out through the postal art networks. Other works were donated to various archives and collections.
Postal Art Broadside, USA, 1992
Postal Art Distribution Box, USA, 1992
Stamp Art (1) (2), Global, 1992
Mike Duquette correspondence, Canada 1992
Border Arts Workshop, USA 1992
Spiral Kid, USA1992
Rene Heybach, USA 4 Postcards, 1992
Mail Art Network Collage, from Il Dibattito: The Stranger, Italy 1992
Michael Schwartz, USA, Top Secret 1992
Timetrack Poster, Osaka, Japan, 1992
