Posts from Cascadian-Range Locals (Locations Variable) Performing FLUX BOMBING

[Thom Courcelle]

Two Cascadian local-yokels documented their rogue Flux Bombing antics in the Capitol City of Olympia, Washington. YES TO ART BOMBING AND PUBLIC INSTALLATION CREATIVITY!!  Although often considered a form of "graffiti," this type of "exhibit installation" is actually harmless entertainment that gives citizens out in public the chance to experience underground art installation.

Like Jon Foster's magnet exhibitions, the artworks do not actually deface or destroy any public infrastructure, nor, at the installation size of these public offerings, do they distract drivers or pedestrians from observing public signage or hazard notices.  THEY ARE JUST FUN and a way to engage (and teach) a public audience about what "art" can be... can make a new audience conceive differently about public communication and interaction...

The above photo shows multiple mailings from Jack of Cascadia Artpost—including the aforementioned documentation of the joint-venture Flux-Bombing of Olympia, Washington. Also included was an article detailing Anna Banana's stamp perforation machine (that she used for years to create her unique mailart) and which she ultimately donated to a Portland, Oregon stamp company. Ultimately, she also donated large volumes of her mailart archives to the University of British Columbia. There was quite a community of mailartists in the Pacific Northwest of the United States that used to gather and collaborate on public exhibitions and archiving historical material. I'm glad to see that there are still meet-ups between aficionados in the area, and Jack seems to be a hub of that activity.

Also participating was nonlocal variable—another artist of the Cascadia Mountain Range area—a bit further south in Beaverton, Oregon, who also sent separate mail art delights...

Wowsers... Both these long-time mailartists put a LOT of effort and time into their postal offerings, and I, for one, am glad to see it!

nonlocal variable's mailing contained a quote card that meant a lot to me recently... I had been having a hard time understanding the outcome of the November presidential election here in the U.S. and coming to terms with a changing political electorate.  I have to admit that I was gobsmacked, stunned, shocked, and gutted by the results. But this quote made me smile just a little bit and understand how to possibly move on...

The social responsibility of the artist is to survive and to continue to nibble away at society's thick hide with love and sharp teeth.

...And suddenly there was a reason to make art again...