A Bevy of Beautiful Board — Postcards from Afar and Farther

[Thom Courcelle]

 Hand-made postcards from  amazing artists...

(from top left, clockwise...): James Chester's (California) astonishingly beautiful botanical gel plate print; a cut-and-collage geometric "postcard quilt" from Zack in France; Tyler Hannigan's (New Mexico) hand-colored Linocut print "Flight #2"; and Coco Muchmore (Kansas) finds her political voice with a very creative use of rubber stamps from her archive rubber stamp drawer... (Right on!)

Not to be out-done, or to allow popular culture-of-the-moment pass without commentary...Dave Stafford creates a postcard called "My Tribute to Barbie."  I'm trying to decide what my impression is... It looks a bit like Barbie lost control of her barbie Dream Car and careened into the side of her Barbie Dream House, scraping Pink Paint on the house shingles.... But never fear!  A little eye shadow will cover that right up!  Everything works-out in Barbie's Dreamland!!!

Dave also posted a survey on the back of his postcard  "Please check all boxes that apply..." (Or I think that's what it says; the post office apparently got a little rough with Dave's postcard). Hand-carved stamps!!!

Oh, Dave!  You know I'm always thinking OUTSIDE of the box[es].  Survey results are in: "THESE MAIL ART POSTCARDS ARE AMAZING-TERRIFIC!!!"

Thanks to all these mail artist contributors!!

[Thom Courcelle]

Hmm… I wish your argument was making more sense to me, friend, but I think we simply have different opinions on the matter. To me, your diatribe is a rather oddly cynical perspective for someone who has the privilege of living in a country with 1st Amendment rights (freedom of speech), and where journalists cannot be jailed for their opinions, and newspapers cannot be shut down because of their opposition of unjust partisan governments. In a way, I am glad you feel so privileged as to not feel the need to decry the injustices waged against the underprivileged. That you have never felt the sting of oppression or intolerance or prejudice is perhaps a testament to the people of this country who already protested and spoke up in your favor or in your ancestors’ favor and defense. 

The free press (what you disparage as “media”) historically exists to question authority and present facts that may have been found to contradict injustices of governments or politicians who are less than ethical ...or legislation or laws or court rulings that discriminate upon individual or human rights. The 1st Amendment—as it pertains to the press—was intended to be one of the “checks and balances” of our system of government. You have the right to criticize an unjust ruler or president (or even a just one) without the fear of reprisal because of that 1st Amendment right. By insinuating that “media” and “journalists” are somehow waging a conspiratorial campaign to brainwash Americans tells me you are likely indulging in some non-traditional kinds of media. Your opinion of a conspiratorial “lying media” sort of exposes your own political proclivities anyway, whether you’re attempting to hide them behind a contrived respect for “journalistic integrity” or not…and how that affects your provoking interactions here we will have to leave to providence. I mean, you are always welcome to provide your own perspective on the topics of social issues on the mail art that you send…you’ll just have to see how much mail art you get back in response as a gauge of popular sympathetic opinion…same as me.

With that, I will be turning off comments for this blog, before argument ruins the original celebration of the artwork it was meant to laud, and instead becomes an over-heated platform for troll-dom. There are perhaps better places or forums to have such discussions.  My thanks to the contributors above, once again…

[Mail Art News]

Yes. Having been active in the online arts for 20 years I have seen plenty of political art and political mail art, but the overwhelming majority of it is one-sided, an impassioned feels session. I imagine the art is produced by the owners of the news media using the medium of the "journalists" (who are also one-sided in their feels sessions) to implant the required political programming into the minds of the artists for ongoing divide-and-conquer purposes, who think they themselves have originated the feels. Most funny is how all of the artists start saying the exact same things at the exact same time and then move on to the next topic all at the exact same time, but that is the intended result of the political programming, no? To target artists with propaganda because artists have a compulsion to express. Anyway, blah blah blah, all of this has basically forced me to create some fun little rubber stamped propaganda of my own to counter the culture of one-sided groupthinkery that I have encountered online. 

[Thom Courcelle]

Oh, Thomas...You're confusing Mail Art with journalism, which it definitely is not.  Mail Art is of the people, by the people, and for the people, and it has a L-O-N-G  history of political commentary, which as a purported documentarian of the craft, you'd think you might know...

For your entertainment, below is an assortment of "political" mail art—all of which has successfully made its way through the postal system of the U.S. and many countries around the world. Included are hand-carved rubber stamps, home-made stickers, and artistamps. Most are mine, but I've included artwork from fellow mail artists as well. Feel free to screen-grab them and use them on your own political mail art creations...

[Mail Art News]

I like my political art to cover all sides of the problem from all viewpoints. I've never seen any political art that does that though.