Received: Mail art from the prolific Arttower (Bayern, Germany)

(Homage to Arttower by DVS)


September 10, 2010 - Last week I received a packed envelope from the prolific German mail artist Arttower. The set includes postcard-size works showing his versatile styles, a hand-written message, and several different types of IUOMA stamps. All this was enclosed in a "found" and tattered brochure advertising yoga instruction. There are hints everywhere in the work that Arttower takes his artistry seriously. There is also a lot of humor and fun. For instance, see Exhibit A:


"Greetings from the 4th Dimension," for sure. Here Arttower promotes the ability of "the eternal network" to connect an incredible diversity of people across vast spaces on the globe and also across time. My subjective response to this image Arttower has created is: I know this guy. My point being that mail art has an uncanny way of establishing a rapport between people that might help explain its ability to endure. It continues in Exhibit B:

Receiving Arttower's mail art brought home for me, so to speak, the fact that many mail artists create a persona. This character is developed and enlarged through the work, and friends watch the development. But, as the shifts above reveal, the character is subject to all kinds of discontinuity (narrative disruption some would call it) and sudden, abrupt changes in context. Even when the intent is clearly humor, the roots of this form in various avant movements is apparent. This is shown below in another piece Arttower sent me:

Arttower also takes full advantage of the outside packaging too:


Stamps. Look at the variety of stamps Arttower uses. I never thought I'd get into stamps, but the IUOMA opens up all kinds of things. And maybe the best is saved for last:

It all comes together in a crescendo. Arttower produces an extraordinary amount of art. He hosts shows and manages to stay in contact with a tremendous number of friends. He also has a very active blog where he continually shows the work he receives:

http://arttowersmailart.blogspot.com

Thank you Arttower for your friendship!


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