COMPILATION BLOG: "Back in the USA" with Jim SantAmour, Diane Keys, and Jon Foster

[De Villo Sloan]

 

Mail-art by IUOMA member Jim SantAmour (Petersburg, Florida, USA)

 

September 6, 2011 - Jim SantAmour has established himself mainly with wonderful collage work using (what I think must be) his personal archive of amazing photos gathered over a long period of time. We all should have had the foresight to build such an archive, independent of anything that can be found on the net! Many of the photos he uses were taken on of my home turf - Central New York State - so I have been interested and deeply moved by Jim's work.

 

Recently, I was thrilled to see he has ventured, even if briefly, into vispo aka visual poetry. The small postcard-size piece above is solid and beautiful, revealing the mystery of printed symbols and the abstract complexity of overlays and juxtapositions. This piece is rooted in concrete poetry and indicates yet again that vispo is an accessible option for all mail-artists. The results can be fascinating and highly individualistic. Here is the reverse side:

 

Many, many thanks to Jim SantAmour, formerly of New York and now a resident of sunny Florida!

 

I am very fortunate indeed that mail-art legend Diane Keys aka DK - pioneer of roaDKill art, Trashpo, the Junk Mail Revolution, Attitude Girl, among other genres - is an irregular regular mail-art friend. I suppose that's because I was an early fan and am a member of the New York Fan Club - DKULTNY.

 

A recent package (selected material below) contained my D-Koder ring, which I thought was a benefit of being a part of the fan club and insisted on receiving. Unfortunately, the ring is broken and I think it is defective. I will not make public any more of this minor dispute with the D-Kmart wing of the burgeoning DK industry. Also included in the envelope from DK were these fascinating objects in plastic bags:

 

Mail-art by IUOMA member Diane Keys (Elgin, Illinois, USA)

 

DK also included an add-and-pass sheet that has the work of such luminaries as visual poets John M. Bennett (Columbus, Ohio, USA) and Samuel Montalvetti (Argentina):

 

 

 

 

Here is the reverse side with monikers:

 

Make sure to check out DK's amazing blog:

http://dianekeys.blogspot.com/

 

In a little bit more than a year's time at IUOMA (and I think in mail-art), Jon Foster has established himself as an admired and innovative collage artists. I think Jon did some traveling this summer and was absent from the network. He has come back with new work, including the "Lexington" series that has generated praise and admiration. Recently, I received this postcard-size piece from Jon:

 

Mail-art by IUOMA member Jon Foster (Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA)

 

Here's the reverse:

 

 

Some of the new Jon Foster work is retro and seems in places to work as an homage to Ray Johnson. This piece suggests that to me, if only because the iconic "Life" magazine logo was used by Richard Carnard (Illinois, USA) in mail-art he sent to me that referenced the NY Correspondence School extensively. Who are the people in this collage? I am not sure. As ever, am I missing something obvious? Regardless, many thanks to Jon as well as Jim and Diane for these great pieces!

 

Mail-Art Psychic

 

http://grigori-nojohnrays.blogspot.com/2011/10/cry-zalop-marie-anto...

[De Villo Sloan]

Cherry Blossom, you're always placing interesting comments in expired blogs. Thank you for checking on Jerry Lewis. I suspected it was true. And as for the French being "also suckers for low-brow humor" - if one can generalize about such a thing - it is the only way to explain why you frequent this slightly disreputable blog.

[Marie Wintzer]

As usual I did my research, and Jerry Lewis was indeed very popular in France, where he had a crowd of adoring fans, apparently. A quote from one of his biographers: while the French love high art, they're also suckers for low-brow humor.

You were right

[De Villo Sloan]

There you are, CB. The pic I posted was the comedian Jerry Lewis. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a team back in the old days of the "Rat Pack" - strictly Americana. For years there was a rumor that he was taken seriously in France. This is just more exposure of my abject ignorance. I wasn't entirely serious anyway. I thought maybe you had posted a pic of Mr. Spock from "Star Trek." but enough of trash tv. 

 

Thanks to your diplomacy another clash with the Minnesota Menace has been averted, and that's what matters. The Grigster has his TRRH tattoo. Dw has his CB tattoo. What other mail-artist has ever inspired such passion or, maybe we should call it, allegiance.

[Marie Wintzer]

I don't recognize him. It must be I didn't watch enough trash-TV when I was young. Whoever he is, he too has a twin, I'm quite sure about that one (Craig Ferguson/Prince Charles):

 

[De Villo Sloan]

Marie, is it true this guy was once popular in France?

[Marie Wintzer]

The actor is Jean Marais. Please don't make him king of trashpo, he deserves much better. That would be terrible...
I thought that GA blog was alright, no?

[De Villo Sloan]

And here's an open suggestion to Dw: In the final scene of TA, have a scene where TRRH must choose between The Grigster or Dark wall. That's the only way to settle it.

[De Villo Sloan]

I doubt it. Johnny Carson was from the Midwest US. One of his routines was "The Amazing Karnak" (or something) where he could give an answer to a question sealed in an envelope. He had a sidekick named Ed.

 

Who is the actor in your pic? He looks like he should be The King of Trashpo.

 

You know I am barely containing myself over that GA blog.

[Marie Wintzer]

Is he brother to this one? (famous french actor. I always thought they looked similar)

[De Villo Sloan]

Cherry Blossom, you do know "that guy with the feathers on his head" is Johnny Carson? Like the greatest late-night talk show host in history?