Richard Canard's Yard Sale (Carbondale, Illinois, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Richard Canard (Carbondale, Illinois, USA)

July 10, 2014 - I am amassing a formidable collection of work by Richard Canard. The challenge is documentation and archiving. In this post, I humbly offer a collection of both current and not-so-current pieces (but never before seen!) by our faithful correspondent in Carbondale, Illusion, USADD. The more recent work (above) shows a renewed preoccupation with Trashpo, and I am reminded that Richard Canard’s contributions to the genre rival even those of “Jesus Jim” Leftwich (Virginia, USA) and (dare I say this?) Queen of Trash Diane Keys (Illinois, USA).

This colorful piece masterfully employs found material (yard sale sign) and the recycling theme. I am confident Diane Keys would D-Klare it a “Trashterpiece.” I do.

Is Ray Johnson Finnished Yet?

On this lovely card, Richard Canard references Carina Granlund (Petsmo, Finland) as well as ongoing lobbying efforts for an official USA Ray Johnson postage stamp. Here is the reverse side:

 

Correspondense?

Ray Johnson is known to have favored “correspondance” as descriptive wordplay. Lately, Richard Canard has been favoring “correspondence” (correspondence art) over “mail-art.” In this missive, he takes the alphabetical acrobatics a step further with characteristic, self-effacing humor.

The Trashpo affinity appears again through the ingenious use of a super glue container – excellent recycling!

 

Chez Trashpop

Others have noted a PopArt influence in Trashpo. The tendency is pronounced in Richard Carnard’s efforts. He has a keen eye for locating interesting color, design and irony in consumer/corporate food packaging; his cerealism, for instance, has been widely praised. In this piece, the scrutinizing lens turns cheesy with outstanding results. The message on the reverse side is nothing but classic Litter Richard:

Richard Canard deserves credit for his fine calligraphy as well, IMHO.

 

More Poets’ Coroner

To leave the impression that Richard Canard is only a Trashpoet in the quasi-digital wastes of Mail-Art Nouveaux would be a supreme misrepresentation. His work is eclectic and diverse, including, in my estimation, very fine and serious contributions to post-avant poetry. Here I present another piece in his ongoing minimalist vispo “LIFE” series. Hopefully, I will eventually post more work from this series altogether.

As ever, deepest thanks to Richard Canard for his ongoing correspondance!

[De Villo Sloan]

Thx DK. Today, I can't get past Richard's name. (D-Kanard?).

Full Definition of CANARD

1

a :  a false or unfounded report or story; especially :  a fabricated report

b :  a groundless rumor or belief

2

:  an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of supporting surfaces; also :  a small airfoil in front of the wing of an aircraft that can increase the aircraft's performance

See canard defined for English-language learners »

Examples of CANARD

1. The book repeats some of history's oldest canards.
2. the widespread canard that every lawyer is dishonest

Origin of CANARD

French, literally, duck; in sense 1, from Middle French vendre des canards à moitié to cheat, literally, to half-sell ducks

First Known Use: 1851

[DKeys]

RC's poems are my favorite. I feel they are a concise summary of what he is about. Tongue in Cheek humor, conceptual,meaningful, wacky, relavent, trashy,cheezity yet not cheesy