Vanna White Tribute & More by Joey Patrickt (Oakland, California, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Joey Patrickt (Oakland, California, USA)

January 3, 2015 - I am absolutely thrilled to venture into 2015 sharing this FAB package of mail-art from Joey Patrickt.

This is a missive with both heft and depth that reveals the range of Joey’s talents. As I reported, I had been a fan already based on work I had seen on the net. Now I am very happy to have these great examples he kindly sent for the MinXus-LynXus USA archives.

I am not sure about the composition process or intention behind this altered (or simply found) “Buttons and Bows” sheet music, but I find it visually impressive and appreciate the retro-popcult dimension. This crosses over into vispo and event score territory with its mix of music notation and color. Here is the reverse side:

As my research into West Coast USA mail-art deepens (thanks to friends who have filled in some historical gaps), I discovered a few facts about Joey Patrickt, as the biographical record is not currently abundant. One is that he fares originally from Cleveland, Ohio, USA and maintains an interest in the architecture and culture of that city.

I have a fascination with the great, decaying industrial centers of the Great Lakes Region, including Cleveland. As I once contended in a discussion about visual poetry by Matthew Stolte and David Chirot (Wisconsin, USA), these Great Lakes cities have a tendency to produce a certain gritty industrial aesthetic in their native poets and artists. While far removed from Cleveland origins, it is perhaps this aesthetic I am responding to in art by Joey Patrickt, although it has evolved and transformed in the West. He also included a collage:

Much like work I have come to expect from trashpoet friends, Joey Patrickt generously included “ephemera” (as Cleo aka Claire taught me to call it) in addition to the showcase pieces above.

These range from finished postcards to trash and found material. This blanks driver license sheet is a real keeper I am going to be sure to share with the DKulters:

Seven Vanna White yarn labels he included move us firmly into classic Trashpo territory:

Focusing on Vanna White as a figure of celebrity popcult locates – for me anyway – the genius of Joey Patrickt. The image repetition is fantastic as well, invoking both Warhol and Trashpo. Ray Johnson himself made popart a staple of mail-art, and the genre has been developed for decades in the network. It is always fun to receive popart-based m-a, but I am sorry to report that much of it is not very original nor does it offer new insights. Joey Patrickt seems always able to provide some new perception and/or an ironic or absurd turn that is thought provoking. Does he follow Trashpo and DKult? Not likely, but his work has some commonalities.

And the reverse:

The John Wayne stamp needs a close up. It’s perfect for the Mink Ranch:

Many thanks to Joey Patrickt for this spectacular package. I will get something out to Oakland soon!

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks, Jesse.

Diane, I think the sheet music has been run through a printer. (BTW you can make a copy of the sheet music on conventional paper and then run it (the copy) through the printer. That will be kinder to the printer.)

With Joey Patrickt, I am more used to the altered postcards and photos you see on his IUOMA page. This mailing was a revelation in terms of the found material and the similarity to Trashpo.

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/joeyakaPatrickt

[jesse edwards]

 beautiful images . . . . and thank you for the historical background . . . . .

[DKeys]

Noooiiiiiccce! Very nice color blocked word score i like how it looks like an ibm punch card, printer test, hanging chad  simple yet very interesting idea. I am guessing he put the music through a printer-something I have always loved to do but has broken many flimsy printers. Nice blog!