Epical Fluxus Mail Art by Cleo aka Claire Dinsmore (Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail art by IUOMA member Cleo aka Claire Dinsmore (Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA)

Part I: Fluxus

September 7, 2015 - I have not received mail from Claire Dinsmore in a long time. (I prefer that name to the others because that was the name she used when I first met her.) This package I am sharing with you now was well worth the wait. She sent a spectacular and bursting mail art tour-de-force that I will share in two parts.

Claire Dinsmore’s art is aesthetic, elegant, intelligent as well as self-reflective. In fact, I believe she is having an influence on many artists in the network who admire and follow her work. The pieces I have selected to document in Part I follow a Fluxus theme or, put another way, build upon mail art produced in the spirit of Fluxus that has appeared in the network for decades. Claire is well aware of the various artistic strains that have shaped the network and persist today. She moves among modes freely and effortlessly. adapting them to her own style. Her interpretation of Fluxus is what I find most interesting here. I see this package as a series of conscious allusions rather than a largely unconscious declaration of influence.

All the pieces were meticulously organized and wrapped. Even the tape is part of the art. A closer look:

Opening and exploring the work is an interactive, sensory experience. In this and other mail art pieces I have seen by Claire Dinsmore, I believe the classic Flux Kit is the underlying model she uses to create her own successful package. She includes fascinating, sometimes found, material in envelopes inside envelopes, packages inside packages. The cryptic quality so often found in mail art is utilized.

The contents:

Reverse sides:

Here is a close up of a FAB ATC using material from Fluxlist:

Even more detail:

Here are some interesting stamps on the reverse side. Apparently Claire Dinsmore assembled this amazing creation over an extended period of time:

Claire Dinsmore included a kind note:

I am absolutely thrilled Claire Dinsmore sent me this wonderful mail art that is, at least in part, an homage to Fluxus and its impact on mail art. I still have more work from this one package to share. Stay tuned for Part II where I will explore Claire’s paradoxical but important contributions to Trashpo.

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks for the comment, Val McEwan. I understand it is not negative.

Sometimes we can all feel like we are nowhere being in the places we are, you know? Just the daily grind. Mail art and the network make every place a center in cultural terms. I really believe that.

When I first began receiving mail art, it seemed like everything came from New York City. Once, in fact, it seemed like anything culturally "significant" had to come from one of a handful urban centers in the world. That is not true any more. Being in Upstate NY feels like a very special ring of hell because of its proximity to NYC without being NYC.

Then - in terms of mail art - Fluxus started happening in places like Wisconsin and Arizona and many points far beyond in many countries. Everything became "de-centered."

So don't feel that way about where you are. That's what I think.

And in terms of Claire, well, Claire is a product that sells itself. Networkers really like her work.

I will be featuring her Trashpo in the next blog.

[Val MacEwan]

A tailspin of joy -- I hope that is understood. After a re-read, it occurred to me that someone might find that a negative comment and oh, no no, that ain't so so.

[Val MacEwan]

Corn Pone Truth lies in how much my mail box means to me. I live in very small dismally swamp burg on southeast coast of Giant Gnat, NC and we know our postal workers as personal family friends. That said, "Justin" enjoys the Mail Art delivery as much as I do. Something more interesting than Direct TV pamphlets,  Are You Going Deaf? flyers, and in the coming months -- political postcards. I could wax all Fluxus Artist and Cool Studio here but in SwampSuckingSouthland - my hip attitude needs a replacement. Your scans of Ms. Dinsmore's missives sent me into a tailspin.