>>The Act of Resistance Through [Mail]Art<<

[Thom Courcelle]

There was an article by Elayne Clift in our "Opinions/Perspectives" section of my local newspaper's weekend edition (The Rutland Herald, April 9-11, 2022 edition). This is a VERY small, local newspaper, which none-the-less has won several Pulitzers in its long history (established in 1794). Anyway, Clift's article reflected for me the strong tradition that mail art affords for resistance against political injustices and championing for progressive social justice. And I thought that other IUMOA members would appreciate being able to read the wisdom of Elayne's commentary...

(There is a paywall for The Herald's website, so the article is reproduced as a JPEG below. If anyone has difficulty with the text, please message me and I will try to forward or mail you the article directly.)

I'd also like to say, that I am sure there are plenty of Mail artists membered on this site who are here solely to share and exchange art as "therapy" against the harsh and hard realities of the world, to whom I empathize. There are terrible things happening in the world, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by them. Art can be a wonderful salve to temper the grotesqueries that are forced upon us by the evening news and other social media.

BUT...I also think it's important to understand the history of how art can influence public opinion, reveal truths against the brainwashing that now seems to commonly occur from despots and dictators and plutocrat politicians. Mail art has a *rich* history of calling out social injustice and mocking tyranny. Artists make a difference in world affairs. Artistic tropes of resistance undermine autocratic dissembling. Take pride in artistic resistance and know that it is a privilege to be able to participate in the discussion that difficult resistance art can inspire. It's a way to express your unique voice and perspective towards justice and towards good, and it should be something to be celebrated and honored.

Blessings to all...

[Thom Courcelle]

So glad to see all of you here,  Debra, Kat, and Ilya...thanks for reading.

I like those stamps, Kat! The U.S. postal system *used* to do more civic-minded commemorative stamps...in the 1940s through the 1980s. But now-a-days, the U.S. is so divided politically—with civic programs demonized by the right-wing as unnecessary intrusive government spending—that our postage art has more and more been tamed into pastoral scenes and objects that are hard to politicize. (A GOOD REASON TO ADVOCATE FOR THE MAKING OF ARTISTAMPS!!)

Also, the head of the U.S. postal system right now is someone to be protesting against and resisting!! Louis DeJoy has made every effort to undermine and sabotage the U.S. postal system in order to enrich himself and his investments in consumerist market projects in which he is invested! Fortunately, the Biden administration just recently reversed the GOP-led mandate that forced the U.S. Postal system to have to pay its pension plan 50 years in advance...which had been bankrupting the post office. Many of us here are still waiting for the Postal Board of Governors to *FIRE DeJOY* and *SAVE THE POST OFFICE!*

[Ilya Semenenko-Basin]

You have touched on an important subject!

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Hello Thom, so good to see you!

There are quite active mail art projects happening now for Peace in Ukraine,

and I imagine mail art to Putin, too.

Greek Post reissued its 2020 stamp for international mail...

and it is circulating the globe:

Tell this to Putin:

(maybe even shout it?)

[Debra Mulnick]

Great to see you here Thom.  Thanks for posting this & making it so easy for us to read.

We all need inspiration to create meaningful work.  Stay well, Debra