Postcard from Jay Block (Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail art by IUOMA member Jay Block (Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA)

March 27, 2015 - I am always pleased to receive mail from Jay Block. Most of his work uses the postcard as a form. I always find him doing something interesting, pushing the limitations of the form and exploring the possibilities.

In contemporary mail-art (Mail Art NouveauX), the postcard – based on my subjective observations, of course – is the medium of choice. (Some of the newer folks, indeed, might have no idea anything else was ever used.) Perhaps the idea of choice should be qualified. Resorting to postcards is likely the result of exorbitant postal rates as well as an aesthetic decision.

I do find that the artists working regularly with postcards – such as Jay Block and Richard Canard – and who bring discipline and thoughtfulness to the effort produce varied and pleasing results. The postcard format can lead to monotony and repetition. Given letter writing is fading as a practice even in mail-art circles and the dominance of collage, we need postcard innovators as well. Jay Block, I think, is certainly someone to watch.

Many thanks to Jay Block for always being so kind as to remember me.

[De Villo Sloan]

Jay, I appreciate the work you send & all you are doing otherwise in terms of the gallery, etc.

Interrogating the postcard can yield some insights about the artists' process. What you write about establishing a narrative is very interesting. I believe I "get" this work you sent.

Many artists develop a kind of visual-verbal shorthand. Mail art is so often labeled as "cryptic." In many cases it all makes perfect sense after a while.

For instance, Grigori Antonin definitely created narratives and maybe a kind of rhetoric. In some cases, I got it. Other times, I didn't. This one represents the latter:

[Jay Block]

Thank you for your kind words.  I like the postcard format as a window to work in, and that it is a personal size object.  Narrative of some sort is important in the cards... this takes different forms from philosophy to color theory... just depends on my level of curiosity that day.