Received: Mail-art and stamp documentation sheet from Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

[De Villo Sloan]

October 2, 2010 - Ruud Janssen, IOUMA founder and artist, is just the best in my book. With everything else he's doing, he manages to keep his mail-art flowing and respond to all kinds of requests and questions. Several weeks ago I received mail-art from him in one of his hand-painted envelopes. It included an add-and-pass sheet to gather Fluxus mail-art documentation for the TAM Rubber Stamp Archive (see image above). In a blog post of the items I said that it would be hard to pass this document along and not keep it for my own mail-art archive, being deeply interested in Fluxus and especially Litsa Spathi's Fluxus Poetics. Low and behold, Ruud sent me another document so I could, indeed, keep one for the collection and pass in the U.S. That is just way thoughtful. In addition to Ruud and Litsa, you will notice the stamp of Ben Vautier. I must confess, I had heard the name but didn't know all that much about him. He is worth investigating:

www.ben-vautier.com

As an anecdote to add to Ruud's ongoing TAM documentation work - I noticed that some U.S. artists don't have stamps. If you receive documentation sheets and are lacking a stamp, I think there are probably creative alternatives to make yourself known. In the long run, you probably want to look into your own unique stamp. Ruud, of course, included one of his work-of-art envelopes:

Nice one. Ruud also included a card from the Fluxus Heidelberg Center - I'm reasonably certain IUOMA members must know about this resource that Ruud and Litsa Spathi have established. If not, look around IUOMA and you'll find it. Not only does this piece emphasize the performative aspect of Fluxus, it has some visual-verbal elements not to be missed:

There is yet another item of interest in the mail-art Ruud sent, but this is getting long and I'll save it for one of those less-and-less frequent mail-art dry spells. This has been the best ever mail-art week for me: Brent Leopold (USA), Karen Champlin (USA), Marie Wintzer (Japan), JF CHAPELLE (France), Ruud Janssen (Netherlands, Germany) - Thank You IUOMA!

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks for the comment Ruud. The personalities are very interesting in Europe and the U.S., and I am sure across the globe too. Another part of this I am learning about is the circulation of manifestos and various kinds of charts - much of it through mail-art. Last summer Ruud did a series of charts (but with painting) that showed mail-art networks, Fluxus networks, different kinds of mail-art. They were in the gallery for a long time. Many members probably saw them. Ben Vautier seems to issue many written statements. It is another interesting aspect of mail-art related to these circulating documents. Great stuff, I think.

[Ruud Janssen]

Thanks for the interesting report. I am glad you liked the mail & content. Ben Vautier is indeed an interesting personality. Actually also one of the founding members of Fluxus. Seems inside the USA the European version and roots of Fluxus sometimes are not that well known. Good to know another stampsheet with Fluxus Stamps is circullating. Some do return, but some stay away quite a long time. I hope to get enough back for a book on the subject.

Expect some more surprises De Villo Sloan....!