The Epistolarium

FOR PANDORA’s BOX: 

Collage THE opening of Pandora’s box in KABUL happened when WOMEN started reading BOOKS !!!

FOR DOLLS: 

Collage DOLLS enslaved in the ropes and nets of christianity

I love those dolls Guido!

I share my passion for dolls with Theresa.

Some great books:

Le grand livre de la poupée (Siloé editions Paris, 1978 but the book was printed in former East Germany, LoL)

Les Marionnettes (Bordas editions Paris, 1982, so on puppets but there is a chapter on from dolls to puppets, interrelated is obvious).

Be careful using dolls in art like the example of Hans Bellmer shows (the garbage man and tormentor of Unica Zurn, talked about that before, probably to DVS). I think he was a sick bastard. Came close to that once myself by stripping a barbie doll, painting the naked doll in gold and then covered her with swastikas and her arm in a Sieg Heil movement. I still can understand WHY I did this but 2day I would not do this again.

I think this project calls for a barbecued barbie.

3D effects in collages are possible by alteration between black/white and color and b/w again. See also my man of Delos collage. I did this by instinct but it was Janine who focussed on that, so now I am quite conscient about the trick, used it again in the doll collage, so no 3D, seems only 3D, LoL

Thanks Guido. The effect works wonders and it definitely gives it the 3D appearance. I think I'll have to have a go.

Could be I use more images from these books but I hate to destroy them, allez, right now I mean....

All things change, all things pass, all things alter, even books, zines and dolls

But the books are great, most doll books are boring, just pictures without any content or historical and cultural analysis, only a few, so we must treasure them!

Dolls can be disturbing! See the Chukie movies, love all of them, underground movies despite commercial aspirations, funny contradiction to reflect on!

Simic was introduced to me thru Stone, Basso and Chirot, the usual band of brothers! The books I mentioned are French and out of print, found them in accidentally in second hand shops, always great discoveries there!

Looking forward to that Theresa, BTW I gave your personal email to Cheryl Penn, so she’ll contact you because wants to 2 part of Epistolarium 2. Had some heart 2 heart conversations with her. The fires are burning brightly in the night!

Related to dolls:

Photo by Robert Carande, USA

WALL OF IDOLS ABOVE THE FIRE PLACE

Another doll collage:

Back to the future or the Antwerp city hall in 2014, A critic on the growing adoration of Flemish nationalism in Belgium. 

Funny collage from friend Jo Hubert, Belgium

THE RAT IN THE LIBRARY

Personal detail: Jo is the wife of Robert Varlez, my art mentor

I've been re-reading Issue One and now I can't wait for the next issue. Roll on March! 

Hi Theresa, do you have room for one more?  Thank you, Carla

ooh! An unknown person sounds brilliant! You've given me an idea.

Hi Theresa, I am finally ready to send you my Right Now thing.  It's quite minimalist but it has also taken a long time to process and complete.

The list is looking good Theresa!

Hooray!

Theresa, I received you baby doll thinking to herself one afternoon!  Thank you.

I've blogged it here: http://thepostalleger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/theresa-sends-altered-...

Under the bridge of forgotten letters, new collage

Rabbit Nero eating a mail art letter from my archive!

Oh yes, he is more in the house than in the garden! But he is very clean, no problems at all except his taste for books and mail art. Okay, we have similar tastes.

Nero simply loves Tarantino! Buzz is a bit jealous. Nero doesn’t give a ...

He grows on me, that rabbit, so many of my automatic drawings are suddenly rabbits from outer space!

ECRIRE DU BREUGHEL / In the epistolarium of Pieter Breughel

Beautiful Doll !!!

Dear Theresa, Pandora discovered SEX!

VERY large envelope on ABOUT DOLLS

Wrapped the large envelope (for mailing A3 works) in some old Brain cell sheets of Cohen, so the painted envelope is NOT visible!, will go to the post office tomorow for a mailing. They know me there and I trust them. So if mail gets lost, blame it on the US side of the postal system! Be careful when you cut the paper. 3 more Epistolarium collages are inside and Faces booklet ³3.

These are really beautiful, Guido - they are more than worth framing and hanging in a fancy museum!  I just had to say...

Guido, this is really stunning. Your work seems to be taking a new direction lately.

Theresa, for some reason I had the intuition that he might have a thing or two to say about museums....;-)

To paraphrase author Hugo Claus: museums are like cathedrals, they need to be bombed!

On a more serious level, new Epistolarium collage I made 2day (in series of 5) and all of them are linked to a certain degree...

I called this one OBSERVING THE MOUNTAIN DOLL

To all collage lovers: become follower and? or participant of

http://networkcollages. blogspot.com

When I posted the package via the local post office I had this funny conversation;

-I was not sure of the postage stamps because the envelope is bigger than usual

-The weight is all right but the size is not, this will cost you at least 80 euros (a joke of the postal worker)

-Ah, book me a flight to New York then, so I can do a personal delivery mail, the way things are going flying will become less expensive than mailing

(LoL from everybody at the post office)

-Why did you cover the envelope

-Because it is a painting and in recent times some mail does not arrive, I suppose it reached a new destination in the hands of postal worker in the US

-Hey, that’s the mister who makes this incredible drawings and paintings on envelopes (a postal worker)

-Are you sure it is an American who keeps the envelopes, you heard the reaction, the problem could be Belgian (lol again)

-It is easier to blame the americans, they are used to that!

LoL (but not from everybody)

-Come here more often with your mail, at least we can have a good laugh

-That’s a deal but I wanna a serious reduction on the postal rates

(general laughter).

I leave the post office!

makes me smile   :-)

Extremely delightful postal conversation, Guido! gave me more than one good laugh. This is inspiration to take stuff to the post office more often. I am lazy and leave it in our mailbox for the mailman to take there.

Well, I am (to certain limits) a follower of Guy Bleus, one of the 2 guys responsible for spreading mail art around in Belgium. Guy’s idea of mail art was a direct confrontation with the administration of the postal system (amongst others). Confrontation can be how you say this «therapeutic». So from a negative it becomes a postive mirror. That is part of my experience in mail art anyway!

Last week I received a mail art piece that was addressed like this:

Guido Vermeulen

age 59

Brussels, Belgium

with a sticker of the post office: address incomplete

(no address and no ZIP code of Brussels township)

BUT delivered in my mail box despite the sticker.

Showed the mail art piece to my friends at the Portuguese Grelha restaurant where I have permanent exhibitions since this month (I shall change works every month) and the comments were: MAN, you must have a SOLID reputation in the whole of postal system in Brussels!

LoL

So I think I have OVER PASSED in a way the gap between mail art and mail regulations somehow but like every evolution this is temporary, so I do not sleep on sudden HAPPY EVENTS, I still think Guy has a point though perhaps less then in the past. But this could change at any minute! It‘s all a question of personal connections and a certain drive of persistence, like challenging art museums and galleries (VOMIT VOMIT VOMIT)

I need a drink right now!

Love to all of you

G

What is a doll?

A lump of sugar in my throat!

Diabetic Guido

or to paraphrase WA Mozart

COSI FAN TUTTE

Triptych doll art from Theresa (Great! Even rabbit Nero fell in love with it)

More photos of photoshoot in my garden 2day on

http://mailartinternationale.blogspot.com

Theresa your reaction on mountain doll collage triggered me into making a new large painting: CAN YOU SEE THE RABBIT DOLL INSIDE A ROCK?

One of my best paintings so far but it is hard to judge yourself!

More photos (over 30) are on http://guidovermeulen.blogspot,com

I want to exhibit this painting in May at the Grelha restaurant, so I shall not mail this before June or July. When a buyer shows up at the Grelha I am in deep emotional shit! Already happened in April when someone wanted to buy the painting I made for Sarah (in Indiana prison, refused by the prison authorities and not collected by her friends, so returned to me). I don’t want to sell this work I had to explain. Huh???

This was conceived as a gift.

Huh huh??

I do mail art. I sent art works to people thru the mail.

Huh huh huh???

The guy was what they call in French a BROCANTEUR, so he buys and sells on flea markets and collects art objects and bric a brac for himself. He showed me some astonishing Japanese prints, DO NOT SELL THESE I begged him. Then he wanted that I restored some old damaged paintings. Okay, when I find some time perhaps ...

Theresa your reaction on mountain doll collage triggered me into making a new large painting: CAN YOU SEE THE RABBIT DOLL INSIDE A ROCK?

One of my best paintings so far but it is hard to judge yourself!

More photos (over 30) are on 

http://guidovermeulen.blogspot.com

I want to exhibit this painting in May at the Grelha restaurant, so I shall not mail this before June or July. When a buyer shows up at the Grelha I am in deep emotional shit! Already happened in April when someone wanted to buy the painting I made for Sarah (in Indiana prison, refused by the prison authorities and not collected by her friends, so returned to me). I don’t want to sell this work I had to explain. Huh???

That (successful) age 59 address, Guido--it's a modern-day miracle. I love it! The new large painting is mighty powerful, stunning. 

DOLL photo by Marianne Dedecker, Belgium

CAN YOU SEE THE RABBIT DOLL INSIDE A ROCK? is on exhibition at the Grelha restaurant since May 1. Camera failure, so I have to go to repair shop, so you will all have to wait for pictures.

Marianne is in Budapest right now, so I suspect this is a photo of an Hungarian doll

Camera jam is solved, so here are shots from CAN YOU SEE THE RABBIT DOLL INSIDE A ROCK? exhibited at the Grelha restaurant in May

I put this work in the toilet of the restaurant, next to the spot where people can wash their hands, it is my strange humor that I intend to show my best works at that peculiar place.

Rabbit NERO doll (made by Theresa Williams) travels to the Agrelha restaurant

AT ST LUC HOSPITAL, part 2

I ask to remove the blue plastic from my feet but there is no plastic; so I ask to remove my feet instead.

Are you gonna walk on the moon soon? a third nurse asks me.

I start shouting political leaflets towards the sun behind the curtains.

My body feels like a huge bag of sand stranded on an empty beach,

Where is the bridge?! I cry and ring for the nurse in panic.

Is it hidden inside the mini fridge?

You are definitely born on the wrong side of the continent, nurse 4 explains me calmly. She is little, looks like 6 but has the wisdom of 6 X 12.

A doctor NO tells me to take more blood thinners.

I look to the open veins in my arms, bleeding like a silly lookalike of christ & continue dreaming inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside.

Guido Vermeulen

June 2013

AT ST LUC HOSPITAL, part 1 by GV

For Cheryl Penn

Doctor, the lighthouse in your eye drives me insane!

It injects radioactive fuel into my sorry veins

to reach my aching heart thru’ fluo heat waves

while my brain recites a self fabricated mantra on the spot.

I won’t let you go, are singing naiads, imitating Sade.

Amputated lungs are growing back in a sudden dream sequence.

In my blood stream strange fish appear to swim towards my shrunken penis.

The black nurse tells me not to forget to breathe.

Mia on the phone hears the sound of the razor blades around my testicles.

Instructions for a newborn child: do not eat the next 2 hours, do not move your leg for 6 hours, do not take a hot shower for 3 days at least.

I am dizzy by the light and ask the nurse to close the eye of the white god.

Eating causes instant pain, why is that not mentioned in the hospital manual?

I recite the alteration of the seasons in my changing head.

Fluid leaks into my arteries, traveling to Nowhere Land.

When I wake up I see another nurse checking the wounds near my penis. She smiles; what is there to smile about I wonder?

She applies some severe presure on the stitches.

No blood on the moon, she sings, so I must be healing. I am a student, she explains.

I see blood dripping from the bed, creating a pool in the middle of the room but I know that this is only my own anxiety, how some of my emotional stress surfaces inside a dream.

The tennis players continue their endless game between the sheets of my bed.

AT ST LUC HOSPITAL, an exorcism accompanied by a letter to CP