Brain Cell - Ryosuke Cohen

[Ruud Janssen]

What are your thoughts about this project? Would be interesting to know what you think. Do you participate. Since when, How much times. Do you know the concept? Will also try to publish a few samples here (or others can help me with that)

[Heleen de Vaan]

Sure, I think Ryosuke Cohen is amazing. I appreciate his efforts very much!

Regarding your questions:
The single images are reproduced by a special printer, a silkscreen system called 'Cyclostyle'. See for more information here.

And when you send him 150 copies instead (for instance 150 artistamps or 150 stickers or 150 drawn or stamped little papers), he sticks each on each A3 paper.

You can see it in the Brain Cell forms when you watch closer, these differences between the printed and the sticked mail art parts.

[Oh Boy]

If you send him one image, he adds it to 150 sheets with a small silkscreen process.
If you send him 150 stickers or stamps, he places them on the sheet: before, during or after the silkscreen process. The stickers end up intermixed with the ink from images in the silkscreen process.

Each participants name is hand typed on to the documentation page.
They are listed by country. If a participant sent in less than 150 stickers, a note was made next to the name to indicate how many were send. IE: 59/150
The documentation page is xerox copied: limited to the number of participants.

He does a new Brain Cell every 10 days since 1985, 36 a year.
He hand addresses and mails out about 60 to 70 of each edition. One to each participant.

The remaining sheets are used in several ways.

He sends them to mail art shows.

He assembles sets of 30 consecutive editions and sends them to selective participants of the project.

He uses them in his body and face paintings of Mail Artists.

He tears them into strips to use on Add & Pass artworks.

He keeps one of each edition for himself.

[xx Jones]

Thank you Helen, for your answer! Now I understand better!

[vizma bruns]

Just in today...all three of my separate mailings have been combined in one Brain Cell. Now I know that I have to pace myself...

[Ruud Janssen]

I am counting on when the 1000th Brain Cell might come out.....

[Ruud Janssen]

the number 1000 is coming closer......

[Ruud Janssen]

127 to go; takes a bit longer.......

I did get 874 already, sometimes it goes fast.

RJ

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

haha, oops, yes, of course...127 more ! It will take 4 years yet?

[Oh Boy]

One every 10 day is 36 every year.

[Toni Hanner -- tonipoet]

I love the Brain Cell -- I think I've sent my stamp in two or three times. Seeing all the pages of the completed Brain Cell would be fantastic -- a history of mail artist's self-identification. I particularly like the Brain Cell because anyone can be part of it, just by sending in your stamp or sticker. Very egalitarian, which is what we hope Mail Art is.

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

There must be about 15 left to go?

They come delayed here in Greece, but I have up to #983 so far,

[Oh Boy]

Brain Cell 984 arrived here in California.
You are a participant.