Carl T. Chew's Shredded American Tragedy (Seattle, Washington, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Carl T. Chew (Seattle, Washington, USA)

August 14, 2013 - Yesterday I went to the post office after an extended absence and brought home a WalMart bag filled with work from friends and some of the finest pieces I have ever received. Thanks to all and more on this later!

My heart sank, though, when among all the other (intact) mail-art, I found this mangled envelope from veteran mail-artist and extraordinary stamp maker Carl T. Chew of Seattle, Washington. I do not know much about the behind-the-scenes machinations of the postal system. I can only guess Carl's package raised the ire of a conveyor belt scannerbot. At MinXus-Lynxus we will speculate about T.O.X.I.S. conspiracies, but here I will stick to the story that this was an unfortunate accident.

Close in: U.S. postal system admits responsibility in mangled Carl T. Chew mail-art or takes credit for collaborative add-and-pass, depending how you view it.

Here is the gorgeous sheet of stamps that was enclosed, and the damage is not too bad except for wrinkles and crinkles. This is such an amazing homage to mail-artists around the world! I am sure many of you will recognize your favs. I have flattened the sheet out to the best of my ability, and I am hoping over time it will recover further:

Some purists contend that what happens to the work as it passes through the postal system is an important part of the process of composition. In this case, then I have a real collector's item. On the other hand, I must confess I wish I had received this work intact.

Many thanks to Carl T. Chew! I am sure we will have occasion to trade more in the future.

[De Villo Sloan]

Chew-bacca! The Force is strong with this one.

[vizma bruns]

Ohhhh, that would've made me cry.

And those alternate titles are probably making Carl cry...

[De Villo Sloan]

Would I ever use a title I did not appropriate? Comparing Carl's stamps to Dreiser's "An American Tragedy is a little dramatic. Other titles I rejected:

Beggars Can't Be Chew-sers

Carl Chew's Stamps & the Postal Service: If you can't lick 'em, join 'em

Chew on this Uncle Sam!

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Hmm. Just pushed the fav. button, but sometimes the post office's tracks are tragic or semi-tragic. This is one "after" pic that still really makes it, though.