BRAIN CELL - RYOSUKE COHEN - COMPILATION

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Comment by Sabela Baña on February 25, 2021 at 11:41pm

I received Brain Cell 1101 and 1104

Comment by Jeff Bagato on February 23, 2021 at 11:06pm

Here's an example of the Braincell call for participants, from the back of the envelope containing #398, circa 1997. Different address from today.

Comment by Jeff Bagato on February 23, 2021 at 11:05pm

Braincell #398, circa 1997.

Comment by Terry Owenby on February 23, 2021 at 8:21pm

Speaking of helping Mr. Cohen with postage as mentioned in my earlier comment, I just realized there are no postage stamps on the three Brain Cell envelopes in Ruud's comment below. 

Comment by Terry Owenby on February 23, 2021 at 8:15pm

Thank you, Jeff Bagato, for the information! I find it interesting to hear how Ryosuke Cohen creates Brain Cell. And to think he has gone through this process every 10 days until now, when there are over 1,000! Wow! He is obviously very dedicated to his project. Yes, a book about him and his project would be most interesting.

Thank you, Heleen, Jeff, and Ruud, for your responses about sending Ryosuke additional items and mail art. I appreciate it. I'll do that the next time I send him a stamped image. 

You have all been very helpful. Thank you! 

Comment by Jeff Bagato on February 23, 2021 at 3:17pm

Here's some info I found on the website https://mailart.pt/permanent_calls :

"Brain Cell is a mail art project begun by Ryosuke Cohen in June 1985. The project is a networked art project where individual artists contribute stamps, stickers, drawings or other images. These are sent through the mail to Cohen, who assembles and prints them as part of each cell. He prints 150 copies (30 x 42 cm) with a small silkscreen system called a Cyclostyle (now out of production). Each participant is mailed a Brain Cell print along with a documentation list of contributors worldwide.

"Cohen keeps a copy for himself. Some of the remaining Brain Cell prints from each edition are assembled into sets of 30 consecutive editions. These set are sent to artists and Mail Art shows around the world."

Comment by Jeff Bagato on February 23, 2021 at 3:15pm

The mystery deepens! I have never seen a "Brain Cell form"! I have only sent him unmounted rubber stamps which he then incorporates into a Brain Cell. Although on #1103 pictured below, I'm *pretty sure* he took the  red devil girl in the upper right from a rubber stamping I had put on the envelope! (It's an image I found in an old book and had made into a stamp for my private use!) This is in addition to the "Halloween" stamp lower down. I usually include some other kind of artwork, stickers, note, etc in the package. I participated in a few Brain Cells in the 90s and they have always been amazing. A book or interview on his project methods, etc would be wonderful to see.

Comment by Ruud Janssen on February 23, 2021 at 6:22am

I send Ryosuke a piece of mail-art every 2 weeks. Sometimes the braincell's come back in batches....

Comment by Heleen de Vaan on February 23, 2021 at 1:38am

Indeed it is amazing! A good question, Terry.

I think many people send him mail art in return, which he replies to by sending a new Brain Cell form...

What I am wondering about, is what he would do with the received mail art, if not sticked to the Brain Cell forms.

Usually I am sending a stamp design (drawn by hand in black and white on a 300 grams water colour postcard-size paper), in an envelope, most of the time a mail-arted (stamped/drawn) one. Who is sending to whom in return remains the question, though mr. Cohen was the first to send a Brain Cell form spontaneously to me, some years ago. At that time I didn’t know about the project at all. And when I learned about it, I so very much appreciated - and of course still do - the fact that he is connecting mail artists of all times and places in such a beautiful way.

Comment by Terry Owenby on February 22, 2021 at 7:35pm

I'm amazed when I think of how much postage Mr. Cohen must buy in any given time period! Does he accept money to help out with his project? Also, does anyone ever send him mail art in return for Brain Cell, as we do with other mail art we receive? Thank you.  

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