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]

Thanks Skybridge! If we had co-written this, we'd have a nice review! I wanted to say more about all of them, especially Jim's piece because it is amazing vispo and I wanted to talk about what it means to me - you did a great response, IMHO.

 

The "Back in the USA" title (Chuck Berry and the Beatles) wasn't chosen lightly. I think these three artists represent the great diversity of work you see in the US, and Jon's has some strong Americana. DK never ceases to amaze with this "stuff." It's fascinating. The context is that the D-Koder ring was included, which I couldn't scan. And Nancy Scott Bell is DK's big trash supplier. I think some of the material came from her. The note is torn up because I used some of DK's writing in a collage.

 

Anyway, wonderful commentary SBS - fills in the gaps - much appreciated.