Received: It's my Party and I'll cry if I want to mail-art from Cheryl Penn (Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa)

[De Villo Sloan]

October 18, 2010 - Cheryl Penn sent me these photos of artwork she did that was posted on her website. I just find the whole concept of the shadows and the figure somehow haunting. Much as you find a great deal of layering in her visual-verbal work, there is a great deal complex signification in Cheryl's art that lends itself to many possible interpretations. If I got into it here, I would go on forever. I think there are a lot of possibilities. The fairly stunning part of the mail-art package was, for me, the piece of text below. Do you know what it's from? If you don't recognize it right away, which I did not, I think one of the most interesting things is to think about your wrong answers:

I thought it said: "In a hat." In all sincerity, I at first thought she was sending me a passage from one of her critical theory texts. Of course that is woefully inaccurate. It's from George Orwell's 1984. I appreciate this because maybe it's a positive thing to revisit this or something like it for a reality check every so often. Cheryl - originally I thought this was yet some other add-and-pass project. I'm glad I thought about it because I'm not sure how many signatures would have come back to you. Here are some more of the shadow pieces.

She has different permutations of these shadow pieces that are very interesting. I don't know Cheryl. I haven't been invited to any parties lately. I'm in no position to have one of my own because I'm still cleaning up the mess from the last one. I thought ending with the hands-on-hips one was nice closure. Cheryl Penn: Catering to all your party needs: http://www.cherylpennartistsbooks.com

[cheryl penn]

Wish!!!

[Marie Wintzer]

Love this!
Photo 1: the party is starting, people arriving.
Photo 2: getting to know each other, mingling.
Photo 3: end of the party, hands on the hips, so what now? Did we meet?

[De Villo Sloan]

Wow, Trapped Shadow is a good one - I think.

[cheryl penn]

Further to the shadow discussions I sent Mark Loveland II a card called The Trapped Shadow of a Rose Dies. It was a real rose bud, dipped in tar sealed for life in a plastic bag sent in acetate.

[De Villo Sloan]

I hope it's OK. You should have seen the draft I didn't used. You were tried for "practicing semiotics." You took a long vacation in the Gulag. Know much about winter? I'm facing 30 degrees below zero stuff in a few months. You get used to it. I do really appreciate the shadows - you know how much I like them. Don't worry about sending stuff.

[cheryl penn]

When you don't make me cry you make me laugh!!!