1st Mail Art Exhibition in Malaysia

1st INTERNATIONAL MAIL ART EXHIBITION IN MALAYSIA.
Galeri Seni, FSSR, UiTM, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA


Mail art, as its name indicates, is an art that is delivered via mail. Mail art conveys messages, which are more individualistic in manner. It can be regarded, as art that moves through mail as its medium. This collection of art works comprises of drawings or images created by rubber stamp printing, collage, sketches or illustrations on envelopes, postcards, photocopy, poems, sketches, computer printouts, stamps, stickers and other forms of art, as long as they are delivered via mail. Some people even say that if a stone could be mailed and its recipient received it, it could also be called mail art. One of the most important principles for a mail art artist is that a sender must also receive. In other words, a person who wants to receive an artwork must also be active in this art stream. Mail art artists see their artworks as the result of exchanging creativity for free, from one artist to another. The mailing of artworks, bearing stamps or any sign of going through a mailing process is one of the characters of mail art. Mail art is an art form that shows energetic individual creativity.

Some suggest that mail art started since the times of Cleopatra, when she wrapped herself up in a blanket mailed to her lover Caesar. Vincent Van Gogh posted letters to his cousin, Theo, consisting of early sketches that later became his masterpieces.

Mail art expanded as an expressive art in the year 1940's. In the 1960's names like Fluxus, Le Nouveau Realisme, Gutai and Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence School started becoming active in various mail art activities.

Mail art started with a small piece of collage created by Ray Johnson, who is known as the `Father of Mail Art', which was posted to his fellow artists. Each artwork then was transformed with the receiver's creativity and mailed back to the sender. From here, a communication network through mail started between these unique artists without having to meet each other in person. At the same time, images on the artwork indicate the sender's background as well as their name and address written on the envelope or postcard.

Mail art brings forth an optimistic expression and is less serious compared to other forms of art regardless of the artist's status. Generally, mail art is a platform where independent art activists convey their opinions beyond any limits without any restrictions from anyone. Being abreast with the freedom of creating art, mail art can be seen as a chance to know and befriend other artists and it is non-profitable.

Day by day, museums have also taken a deep interest in this form of art. In 1996, two mail art exhibitions (among the biggest exhibitions ever) were held at the Postal Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark and Schwerin Museum in Germany.

Now, electronic mail (e-mail), is also accepted as a form of spreading mail art in what should be called e-mail art.

Among hundreds of mail art groups active with various activities at the international level are Dragonfly (USA), IUOMA (Ruud Janssen/ Netherlands), Braincell (Ryosuke Cohen/ Japan), FRIPS (Belgium), Green Cat (Point Jaune/ Switzerland), I-MAG (Suzlee / Malaysia), Add And Pass Project (Denis Charmot / France) and "Independent Arts"-Festival (Sztuka Fabryka / Belgium).

In this millennium, mail art is popularly known as `the Network'. This is due to the artists' active efforts in varying mail art in the form of electronic media such as `small-press, home-taping, e-mail-art' and others.

The communication between artists has widened and it has become as easy as communicating through the Internet. With the latest technology of the communication world, mail art also follows to expand by using the Internet and e-mail as a medium to communicate. It is also a connection between artists to find one culture without any commercial values in order to fulfill the public's needs.

1st INTERNATIONAL MAIL ART EXHIBITIONWith Ui