LIVEARTS 4U: Postal Arts, the Mail Art Movement

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

Moving Drawing Series #1-5

Conceptual artist Michael B Schwartz will be unveiling a series of moving drawings, live on his instagram account 6pm (MST) on September 3, 2025. 

This series of five “moving drawings” were assembled following the COVID lock-down, and edited in 2022. Schwartz created them with hundreds of stills stitched together using iMovie. Each 1-2 minute long work features a different painting as a background. When viewed sequentially we see an evolution of techniques.

The series was originally shared with a small group of subscribers to the 2020 Eco.Art.Ology project.  This series of animations are a companion to the 2022 Art.Ology Catalogue. You can order a copy of the catalogue on the artists website. 

The artist explains that the objective was to explore new media. 

“The goal was to apply old school concepts, such as claymation and hand drawing, to the new technologies I had available. I’m illustrating this idea that the ordinary can be beautiful. My color field paintings are like looking at clouds, different images emerge and then fade away, I wanted a way of expressing that. The story of course always changes, and these films are capturing one narrative inspired by a painting in that particular moment.”

The five released works include; Run 1, Run 2, Seed House, Fish Story and Moon Island. To enjoy these works you can click this link. 

For more information and full fall 2025 schedule visit: https://michaelbschwartz.com/

Michael B. Schwartz May 10 – June 21, 2025 at Artists & Makers Studios

 

Artists & Makers Studios – Oro Valley, AZ
Michael B. Schwartz: "Recent Works"

On View: May 10, 2025 – June 21, 2025

(Oro Valley, AZ) – Artists and Makers Studios is excited to announce its upcoming exhibition showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of Michael B. Schwartz. Michael B Schwartz (MFA) is a conceptual artist with a focus on painting and drawing. His prolific career spans decades, producing a range of works including drawings, murals, paintings and installations, consistently seeking to challenge himself and engage audiences. 

This collection brings together a group of recent figurative and landscape paintings, all rooted in the foundational practice of drawing. Each piece began as a sketch, allowing form and narrative to emerge organically. The figurative works in particular offer curious and whimsical stories layered with hidden figures and subtle clues, inviting viewers to look closely and uncover, explore, and interpret the subtle narratives woven throughout the collection.

Michael B. Schwartz
Recent Works
Opening Reception
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Saturday, May 10th, 2025 

Artists & Makers Studios - Oro Valley
Steam Pump Village
11061 North Oracle Road, Suite 150
Oro Valley, AZ 85737

Viewing hours are 10:00am – 4:00pm, Monday-Saturday, and Sundays by chance or appointment. 

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville, established in October of 2014 by artist and arts community builder Judith HeartSong, is a 13,000 sq. ft. facility is home to 87 artists, as well as student artists. Artists & Makers Studios – Oro Valley, AZ is a four-year-old jewel box location with talented Resident Artists, 3,575 sq. ft. of studios, galleries, and flex-classroom space. Newly constructed two-story 9,508 sq. ft. studio space in San Gabriel, CA for Artists & Makers Studios’ third location is touring now, with construction set to begin shortly for the three-story 13,902 sq. ft. location in North Hollywood, CA. A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals - through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond our doors.

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misTaken Identities: Stories of Jewish Invisibility in the Southwest

misTaken Identities

an online exhibition of paintings and drawings 

inspired by stories of Jewish invisibility in the Southwest

The southwestern United States has a mesmerizing ambiance. A tapestry of cultures that includes a special story, that of the hidden Jewish peoples of the Southwest. Cloaked in mystery and intrigue the stories, songs and legends that permeate dinner tables and camp fires, names of streets and organizations all have clues to this history. As I listened carefully I realized clues were being dropped, bread crumbs for me to quietly follow.

 “My people got lost on their long journey from León” one friend told me with a wink. A student quietly wishes me “Shanoa Tova Mr.” and rushes off with a smile. “The way my grandmother wove dough for bread on Fridays was different, she braided it” a Barrio elder once told me. “You are my people?” I asked. “Yes”, he responded gently.

These fascinating clues, puzzle pieces, were starting to take form. I began visually researching the forced expulsion of Jewish and Muslim peoples from Spain in 1492.  I was blessed to befriend Arizona Daily Star sports writer Abe Chanin (1921-2014) who founded the Southwest Jewish Archives at the University of Arizona.  Abe guided my initial learning on this subject. He operated an anonymous hotline that people could call in and share their stories. The response was mind boggling. His challenge to me was to tell this story through the arts.

The Jewish “Sepharad” came to be known as "Conversos" or "Moranos". The Sephardic diaspora spread people throughout the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and the Americas. Here in the US Jews wandered north from places such as the recently colonized “New Kingdom of León” (Mexico) to escape deadly inquisitional courts. Today evidence of this Anusim is evidenced throughout the Southwest. In bakeries, gatherings, on signs, landmarks, graveyards and street names.

Prior to the development of the sextant, astrolabes were instruments, produced by craftspeople, used to make astronomical measurements, typically of the altitudes of celestial bodies, and in navigation for calculating latitude. There were Jewish craftspeople who created astrolabes, which were inscribed in Hebrew.

This work in this exhibit revolves around the general theme of the Hidden Jewish Communities, specifically the Sephardic and references to the Mashhadi experiences. Enjoy, and I look forward to your feedback.

 - Michael B Schwartz

4. "Shhhhh"
Ink on Paper
5” x 14”

 

"The Mashhadi Jewish peoples, The Hidden Jewish of Iran, were forced to pretend to convert to Islam from 1839 to 1925. For 200 years they hid their identity."

8. "Torah Hug"
Pastel on paper
18” x 24”

 

10. "journey"
Acrylic on Canvas Board
12” x 16”

 

 

"Do you remember, do you forget, did we remember to close the door? wandering, sailing - through these centuries we are."

12. "relocating"
Mixed Media on Paper
24” x 36”

"Had we been without our stories and navigational equipment all would have been lost, somehow we had to find a ship to stow away on, to reunite with our community, oh if only we could find a way home."

 

17. "Sevilla, Spain 1371"
Acrylic on Wood
24” x 36”

"We should have known, in 1369 physician and astrologer Abraham ibn Zarzal was called into doubt for no reason at all, what was it with these accusations!"

20. "An Astrolabe"
Acrylic on Canvas
30” x 48”

“People frequently associate astrolabes with navigation. Although the instrument used in navigation was a simplified version of the more complex planispheric astrolabe and its use did not start until the 15th century, I would like to keep this image of seas and new lands associated to our research; for the astrolabe is bringing us  a new insight into many aspects of the life and interests of medieval Jews, and some discoveries.”

Dr. Josefina Rodriguez Arribas

23."The Order"
Ink, Acrylic on Paper
24” x 36”

“1492, the order came, banishment, death, conversion or some such combination. we gathered what we could, we knew this day was coming, it was in the air.”

 

24. “Run”
Pastel on Paper
24” x 36”

"We did not want to give up our wonderful lives in Spain, a place for generations we had called home. But it was this, forced conversion or death. How many perished in those days we still do not know. BDE”

Additional Reading:

Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies
Beit Hatfutsot - Museum of the Jewish People
Southwest Jewish Archives

Talk, Talk, Talk: Dialogue: an online exhibition about conversations

 

(Click this image to view exhibit in full screen.)

Talk, Talk, Talk

Artists Statement: “Dialogue”

When selecting works for this exhibit I looked for images of people talking at home. I wanted to capture the feeling of very specific moments. These are every day random group conversations. (I edited out meetings, hearings, inter/intra-species dialogue, or ancestor works - all fascinating subjects for future exhibits).

These works reflect the vulnerable and tender moments of engaging in dialogue. From the humorous and profane conversations shape the human experience. Finding out what recipes, family traditions, places we love to go, sharing cultural artifacts, folklore and hidden expertise is exciting, and vital. Talking with someone who cares and listens well is nutritious. 

Today as we reweave the world in front of us, the conversations resume…

"Just Then"
Acrylic on Cotton
72” x 96”

 

 

"3am"
Pastel on Paper
36’ x 60”

"The Debate"
12” x 16”
Oil on Canvas

 

 

"Friends"
Pastel on Paper
36’ x 72”

"Potluck"
Watercolor on Paper
9” x 12”

"Explaining"
Oil pastel on Paper
10” x 10”

Listening, intently…
Watercolor on Paper
9” x 12”

"Passionate"
Watercolor on Parchment
12” x 18”

"Sword"
Mixed Media on Paper
18” x 24”

"Hammer"
Mixed Media on Paper
18” x 24”

Check out this writing I did a few years ago about coming to consensus on a neighborhood mural project.

MBSarts on Cover of LaLapid Magazine

 I’m honored to be on the current cover of LaLapid Magazine, The Society for Crypto Judaic Studies. You can sign up for membership and learn more here. 

"Astrolabes"Acrylic on Canvas 30” x 48”,  is featured in an on-line exhibit 

on my website that you can enjoy here.