Asemics & Chaos Theory by Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail art by IUOMA founder Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

 

June 27, 2018 - Ruud Janssen – already a contributor to the Asemic Front call – sent this fascinating correspondence art package. A main preoccupation of the piece is exploring asemics and the way signs and symbols are expressed through various modes. These range from “obsolete technologies” to the digital realm and are all addressed in this multi-faceted work.

Ruud Janssen devotes one of his well-known, hand-painted envelopes to establish the themes. I believe this is the first of his painted envelopes that purposefully uses asemic writing. Here is the reverse side of the envelope:

 

 

The envelope contains a copy of a letter that reflects on the experience of using a typewriter in the Digital Age and the ironies of snail mailing a letter when email is available. Ruud Janssen addresses ideas concerning copies vs. “authentic” texts, a subject of perennial interest to artists on the conceptual side of things. For me, this “letter” works as a conceptual essay (of significance I would add) that encompasses numerous topics including the current status of traditional mail art. I believe Diane Keys (Elgin, Illinois, USA) also received a copy of this piece:

 

 

The reverse side:

 

 

This piece was also included:

 

Mail art by Ruud Janssen (Breda, Netherlands)

 

 

 

On the envelope (top scan), Ruud Janssen asks about a connection between asemic writing and Chaos Theory. I wager he knows more about Chaos Theory than I do. I do know that current asemic writers are discussing randomness, formlessness and even discoveries of physics proper (areas I associate with Chaos Theory) as tools to generate asemic signs, symbols and structures. Various kinds of computer randomness generators could be used to generate asemics. But I am not sure if this is what Ruud Janssen is asking. As Gertrude Stein said, “What was the question?”