Definition

[Ruud Janssen]

What is Mail-Art. Give your definition.

(A definition is a statement of the meaning of a word or phrase. The term to be defined is known as the definiendum (Latin: that which is to be defined). The words which define it are known as the definiens (Latin: that which is doing the defining))

[RJ - Moderator]

Mail-Art = Communication-Art

[Ruud Janssen]

Mail art is art which uses the postal system as a medium. The term mail art can refer to an individual message, the medium through which it is sent, or an artistic genre. Mail art is also known as postal art and is sometimes referred to as Correspondence/Mail Art (CMA).

Mail artists typically exchange ephemera in the form of illustrated letters, zines, rubberstamped, decorated or illustrated envelopes, artist trading cards, postcards, artistamps, faux postage, mail-interviews, naked mail, friendship books, decos, and three-dimensional objects.

An amorphous international mail art network, involving thousands of participants in over fifty countries, evolved between the 1950s and the 1990s. It was influenced by other movements, including Dada and Fluxus.

One theme in mail art is that of commerce-free exchange; early mail art was, in part, a snub of gallery art, juried shows, and exclusivity in art. A saying in the mail art movement is "senders receive", meaning that one must not expect mail art to be sent to oneself unless one is also actively participating in the movement.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_art

[Mara Thompson]

In its potential parts, mail art stews amid the shreds and pieces. In response, it is born and sent out on its own, an adventurer... perhaps to land and prosper... perhaps to get lost... destroyed... unread... perhaps kept in a secret place until the pigeons return and then sent out again. It's a cocktail: part intention, part happen-stance, pinch of dream, dash of pun -- mix well and ferment. Best shared. Cheers!

[Ruud Janssen]

it seems very dificult to make a clear definition.