The ever-increasing sophistication of Mail Art?? - International Union of Mail-Artists2024-03-28T16:59:20Zhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/forum/topics/the-ever-increasing-sophistication-of-mail-art?commentId=2496677%3AComment%3A934543&feed=yes&xn_auth=noDear Lois,
This may help you…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-21:2496677:Comment:11890672013-01-21T18:19:30.371ZValentine Mark Hermanhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/ValentineMarkHerman
<p>Dear Lois,</p>
<p>This may help you assuage your feelings of guilt about your 'Cat' project.</p>
<p>Last summer I organised an international Mail Art Envelope Exhibition called 'Summer in Sigean' (the village in France where I live). I received about 550 envelopes, half from France and mostly local, the other half international. There was no way that I could reply to all the international contributors (not the least because I had 5 other exhibitions running during that summer). So what I did…</p>
<p>Dear Lois,</p>
<p>This may help you assuage your feelings of guilt about your 'Cat' project.</p>
<p>Last summer I organised an international Mail Art Envelope Exhibition called 'Summer in Sigean' (the village in France where I live). I received about 550 envelopes, half from France and mostly local, the other half international. There was no way that I could reply to all the international contributors (not the least because I had 5 other exhibitions running during that summer). So what I did was to take photos of all of the envelopes as they were displayed on big panels in the local Médiatheque/Library, and post them here on My Photos. Everyone could see their envelope -- if they looked hard enough.</p>
<p>It seems that there are a number of ways to 'acknowledge' contributions to a project --i) blog them, ii) produce some sort of catalogue, iii) do something like what I did, iv) write evryone a personal thankyou. All you have to do is to provide something that says 'Thanks! Here's your Cat contribution!'.</p>
<p>So GO for another project.</p>
<p>AND contribute to mine, please. It's called 'L'art de la carte postale' ('Post card art': it sounds much better in French), and, sometime during the summer you'll see all (nb more than one!) the postcards that you sent me on displa.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p> Val</p> Valentine Mark Herman wrote:…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-21:2496677:Comment:11888292013-01-21T17:35:22.332ZLois Richterhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/LoisRichter
<p><a class="fn url" href="../topic/listForContributor?user=1ewznkpod5d4j" rel="nofollow">Valentine Mark Herman</a> <span class="timestamp">wrote:</span></p>
<p>> ... My 2012 Mail Art sent and received figures were very close to yours' -- 543 pieces sent, and 532 received. ...</p>
<p>Oops. I MEANT to show that I was quoting YOU with that figure. </p>
<p>(I guess the convention of using "> " before a line to denote quoting someone is not used here. Sorry about that.)</p>
<p>MY 2012…</p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="../topic/listForContributor?user=1ewznkpod5d4j" class="fn url">Valentine Mark Herman</a> <span class="timestamp">wrote:</span></p>
<p>> ... My 2012 Mail Art sent and received figures were very close to yours' -- 543 pieces sent, and 532 received. ...</p>
<p>Oops. I MEANT to show that I was quoting YOU with that figure. </p>
<p>(I guess the convention of using "> " before a line to denote quoting someone is not used here. Sorry about that.)</p>
<p>MY 2012 mailing was about 30. Maybe I'll do more next year.</p>
<p>I'd love to call for another "Cat" mailing, but am too embarrassed by my late response last time. **sigh** Maybe in a few years I'll try it again.</p>
<p>-- Lois Richter, P.O. Box 7, Davis CA 95617-0007 USA</p> Bonjour Mesdames!
Lois: thank…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-18:2496677:Comment:11865912013-01-18T10:17:20.752ZValentine Mark Hermanhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/ValentineMarkHerman
<p>Bonjour Mesdames!</p>
<p><strong>Lois:</strong> thanks for rekindling interest in this -- I'd almost forgotten that I started this Discussion what seems a long while ago. My 2012 Mail Art sent and received figures were very close to yours' -- 543 pieces sent, and 532 received. About 10 a week. As you say, it's not 'instant', and in fact as I hav some other artistic interests on the go at the moment, I'm slightly slowing down by Mail Art activities.</p>
<p><strong>Amy:</strong> I got really…</p>
<p>Bonjour Mesdames!</p>
<p><strong>Lois:</strong> thanks for rekindling interest in this -- I'd almost forgotten that I started this Discussion what seems a long while ago. My 2012 Mail Art sent and received figures were very close to yours' -- 543 pieces sent, and 532 received. About 10 a week. As you say, it's not 'instant', and in fact as I hav some other artistic interests on the go at the moment, I'm slightly slowing down by Mail Art activities.</p>
<p><strong>Amy:</strong> I got really upset at the end oflast year about people hiding behind other names (sometimes more than one at the same time) and not revealing who they were. There were some examples of on-line bullying carried on beind these guises, and some people left IUOMA. MomKat advised me to keep my cool, and I did. One consequence of this is that there are some people here who I have nothing to do with at all. But the other, say, 95% of folks are just great. I don't blog what I receive, because I treat each piece as a confidential (cf Jen) communication from, say, you to me. But I send everyone a personal thank you note both to acknowledge receipt and to express my thanks. As you say, people's styles are so very different. I used to worry that my Mail Art was of a much lower quality than that which I received, but don't any more. I do my thing (cf Nike!) and they do theirs', and long may it stay that way.</p>
<p><strong>Nadine:</strong> whey up, lass, I ain't all that much of an 'elder' (come over and party some time?) and have only been in IUOMA for 3 and a bit years. My artistic world is a mixture of the 'real' and the 'mail', and I divide my time amongst them depending on what's going on. Many of the 'real' artists in my part of France are unbelievable poseurs, pseuds, charlatans, etc. I go to vernissages/openings as much to observe them as the art. I, too, hate computers -- and anything with a screen like a TV, phone, cinema, etc -- and try and spend as little time in possible in front of one...even though I spent 16 years working for a computer company (but fortunately I was corporate, and so could avoid the darned things). Art is better, much better, than ICT in any of its manifestations, and when I am President of the World I will ban the Internet.</p> Yes, here we are, a year late…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-18:2496677:Comment:11863842013-01-18T02:31:14.142ZNadine Wendell-Mojicahttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/NadineWendellMojica
<p>Yes, here we are, a year later still talking. I agree with all of this and take such heart that these are the beliefs held. From the newest (myself) to the elders ( Val, DeVillo et al) I always hope that people receive my work in the spirit it's sent. Humor to lift the day or a chuckle to interrupt the gloom. Anything to stop the flow of crap I get and enter the world far from me. The real 'art world 'to me comes in my small metal mail box not in the fabulous museums I go to and the pill box…</p>
<p>Yes, here we are, a year later still talking. I agree with all of this and take such heart that these are the beliefs held. From the newest (myself) to the elders ( Val, DeVillo et al) I always hope that people receive my work in the spirit it's sent. Humor to lift the day or a chuckle to interrupt the gloom. Anything to stop the flow of crap I get and enter the world far from me. The real 'art world 'to me comes in my small metal mail box not in the fabulous museums I go to and the pill box women/men who attend. I feel terrible that I don't post the true art I receive but I hate computers (what an excuse) and try to send thanks through the mail instead but not always timely.</p> I am fascinated by all the ar…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-18:2496677:Comment:11863092013-01-18T01:50:26.597ZAmy Irwenhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/AmyIrwen
<p>I am fascinated by all the art I exchange with "friends" and "non friends" alike; but I am always at a loss when people use a sudonym on this site....I try new things all the time; and allot of times I am insecure and worry what everyone will think; but I do it under my own name in all it's GLORY - accepted or not...</p>
<p>I agree with Jen Staggs, in that the progression <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">is confidence</span></strong> as well as the good comments and…</p>
<p>I am fascinated by all the art I exchange with "friends" and "non friends" alike; but I am always at a loss when people use a sudonym on this site....I try new things all the time; and allot of times I am insecure and worry what everyone will think; but I do it under my own name in all it's GLORY - accepted or not...</p>
<p>I agree with Jen Staggs, in that the progression <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">is confidence</span></strong> as well as the good comments and acceptance everyone on IUOMA is generous with.</p>
<p>I took me a while to accept that not everyone bloggs your work, but there is a continual mail art exchange...</p>
<p>I have allot of artists I look up to; all different styles, and they inspire me to just do it (as Nike says), there is always another piece of paper, more trash for collage, and paint.... </p>
<p></p>
<p><br/><br/> </p> > ... This year I have rec…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2013-01-17:2496677:Comment:11851262013-01-17T01:30:40.248ZLois Richterhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/LoisRichter
<p>> ... This year I have received 507 pieces from IUOMA people, and sent out 560 ...</p>
<p>This winter I've sent out almost 30 things -- but only because I had signed up for the AML 13th Anniversary artistamp exchange and so was obliged to actually do things. </p>
<p>I value this IUOMA forum a lot because it STAYS HERE, waiting for folks to join in when/if they have the time to or newly discover this place. Here I am replying to a thread started more than year ago, with the last comment…</p>
<p>> ... This year I have received 507 pieces from IUOMA people, and sent out 560 ...</p>
<p>This winter I've sent out almost 30 things -- but only because I had signed up for the AML 13th Anniversary artistamp exchange and so was obliged to actually do things. </p>
<p>I value this IUOMA forum a lot because it STAYS HERE, waiting for folks to join in when/if they have the time to or newly discover this place. Here I am replying to a thread started more than year ago, with the last comment being over 9 months ago. And yet I can still participate. (So very different from the instant-reply "that's so 5 minutes ago" mindset at Facebook.)</p>
<p>I love to get mail-art. But given my current life (Mom is 96 and helping her is stressing us out), I don't respond very quickly. And you-all don't yell at me for it! THANKS for being you.</p>
<p>Four years ago, just before Mom lost her vision and moved back here, I had made a call for "Cat Postcards". The response was great; but, I'm sorry to say, it took me several years to send returns to everyone. (I still haven't posted a webpage showing off the "Cat Postcards" as I had originally planned.) Hopefully I'll be more creative in future years. </p> Thanks A&S, this is a ver…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2012-03-31:2496677:Comment:9435232012-03-31T15:51:11.258ZValentine Mark Hermanhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/ValentineMarkHerman
<p>Thanks A&S, this is a very good statement -- almost a manifesto, in fact.</p>
<p>I'd add one small thing to the second last line...</p>
<p>"grain of both popular and high culture, and technological communication innovations..."; That deals with the Internet which i hate so much (as a destroyer of culture and society).</p>
<p>Given it's lofty aims (to which I entirely subscribe), I do wonder why so many Mail Aetists spend so much time, sending messages about hats, cats & corgis, &…</p>
<p>Thanks A&S, this is a very good statement -- almost a manifesto, in fact.</p>
<p>I'd add one small thing to the second last line...</p>
<p>"grain of both popular and high culture, and technological communication innovations..."; That deals with the Internet which i hate so much (as a destroyer of culture and society).</p>
<p>Given it's lofty aims (to which I entirely subscribe), I do wonder why so many Mail Aetists spend so much time, sending messages about hats, cats & corgis, & just about everything and anything else. Too many words, too little mail Art, perhaps?</p>
<p>val</p> I take mailart with me wherev…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2012-03-31:2496677:Comment:9436542012-03-31T12:28:16.621ZRebecca Guyverhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/RebeccaGuyver
<p>I take mailart with me wherever I go - other people's and my own and talk about it enthusiastically, I am a bit of an evangelist. Some people think I'm nuts but some take it on and tell me they are sending others mailart now too. Like DV I have been doing it forever but it was like I was on another planet - It was a one way thing. IUOMA has validated something that mattered to me and that is FABULOUS. I work with kids and they use the word 'mailart' like any other word after they've been…</p>
<p>I take mailart with me wherever I go - other people's and my own and talk about it enthusiastically, I am a bit of an evangelist. Some people think I'm nuts but some take it on and tell me they are sending others mailart now too. Like DV I have been doing it forever but it was like I was on another planet - It was a one way thing. IUOMA has validated something that mattered to me and that is FABULOUS. I work with kids and they use the word 'mailart' like any other word after they've been around me a while so lets hope the egalitarian, playful nature stays with them and an army of mail artists populates the world.</p> Val, I can certainly echo the…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2012-03-20:2496677:Comment:9345432012-03-20T08:52:36.846ZAustin Wills Jameshttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/AustinWillsJames
<p>Val, I can certainly echo the overwhelming awe you feel when recieving pieces that make you feel inadequate. Sometimes my mailbox contains items that are not only mind-blowing, but also quite humbling. Although I think this experience is quite common amongst our kind, & possibly one of the greatest side-effects of Mail Art. In that, as a community, we are unknowingly & constantly pushing each other to strecth our individual boundaries.</p>
<p>-Austin-</p>
<p>Val, I can certainly echo the overwhelming awe you feel when recieving pieces that make you feel inadequate. Sometimes my mailbox contains items that are not only mind-blowing, but also quite humbling. Although I think this experience is quite common amongst our kind, & possibly one of the greatest side-effects of Mail Art. In that, as a community, we are unknowingly & constantly pushing each other to strecth our individual boundaries.</p>
<p>-Austin-</p> Bonjour STUFF! When I was a s…tag:iuoma-network.ning.com,2012-03-16:2496677:Comment:9302632012-03-16T05:18:01.119ZValentine Mark Hermanhttps://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/ValentineMarkHerman
<p>Bonjour STUFF! When I was a student, my flat-mate and I had a competition to see who could get the most mail -- measured by weight and by number of items received. We wrote to all sorts of companies asking for free samples, filled in newspaper adverts for catalogues, complained to people like Kellogs that our cornflakes weren't fresh (and received a dozen large packets in return!), asked for company prospectuses and AGM reports, etc -- always trying to use as few stamps as possible. We got…</p>
<p>Bonjour STUFF! When I was a student, my flat-mate and I had a competition to see who could get the most mail -- measured by weight and by number of items received. We wrote to all sorts of companies asking for free samples, filled in newspaper adverts for catalogues, complained to people like Kellogs that our cornflakes weren't fresh (and received a dozen large packets in return!), asked for company prospectuses and AGM reports, etc -- always trying to use as few stamps as possible. We got masses of mail, but after a month or so, the interest in this waned off __ and the postman told us that he was sick and tired of lugging things around for us. So we stopped; But your oldest might be inspired by how much free -- but not junk -- mail he/she can get.</p>
<p>Regards, Val</p>