Received: Mail-Art Generations from Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art statements from IUOMA founder Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

 

December 27, 2010 - Ruud Janssen sent me an envelope of mail-art last fall. I posted part of it here at the IUOMA. I saved this "New Generations" piece he wrote because I wanted to devote an entire blog to it. The closing of the year provides a good opportunity. This collection of short statements is a 2007 update of a piece written in 1996. It presents a clear and concise overview of different generations of mail-artists. I thought IUOMA friends, who have not seen this already, might be interested to see what generations they are a part of. I believe Ruud knew I was interested in the history, that I had a knowledge of some generations, but was completely in the dark concerning others. Being from the U.S., I somehow managed to be completely unaware of landmark events such as the Fricker and Ruch conference in Switzerland long after the fact. Here is Ruud Janssen's summary of the generations:

Based on demographics alone, I would guess many of us can claim to be third generation. I am personally very interested in understanding the first and second generations in the U.S.: What exactly was the relationship between Ray Johnson's group and the original Fluxus? Probably some serious overlapping. Here is the other side of Ruud Janssen's "New Generations" piece:

"New Generations" also talks about a Sixth Generation. Given that three years have passed, I wonder if that generation and the things that define it are clearer today? He also alludes to the impact technology has had on mail-art, and developments in that area can be traced through the text also. I have found this piece extremely helpful and send a belated thanks to Ruud for passing it along with mail-art from the, now closing, 2010 season.

[Bifidus Jones]

Excellent point, Katerina. I have all the confidence in the world that the next generation will continue to exchange art in some way, in some form. The question is, how much longer will the postal service be around? With the shift to electronic communication, they face extreme budget deficits. Somehow, mailing art through FedEx or UPS doesn't sound fun (and they don't have cool stamps).