Ever Wondered What Non-Mail-Artists Think About Mail Art?

[jon foster]

This past week I did a short presentation about mail art where I teach. The school is a small community college in a rather rural part of North Carolina. Art is not much of a community focus here. Underneath my presentation was the focus on the international element of mail art. Basically the series of lectures is about international events, issues, etc.

 

I had my students that attended (about 50 did) to send me a quick email about what they learned, what stood out to them the most. Below is an edited list of those comments I think everyone will find amusing. A longer account of what I talked about will appear very soon and with some images. Stay tuned.

 

1. I truly enjoyed your mail art presentation.  What I found most interesting was the communication aspect of mail art.  Average people all around the world are communicating through art.

2. Mr. Foster I have attended the meeting that you discussed about mail art. I remember you explaining to us about a network. I learned that it takes a couple of months even a year for a collage to return to the owner. Although some don't return some people recreate the collage making it look creative. You communicate with a few people around the world with this stuff on a daily basis.

3. I came to the extra credit meeting today, I was informed about what exactly mail art is, how you can make different kinds and send it all over the world to different people and receive. Sizes in things differ; stamps can get a little pricey depending on the weight. Also, I am looking forward to starting my own for I picked up package you gave out and can twist to start my own.

4. Mail Art presented by Mr. Jon Foster, in this session I learned the following: Stamps in certain parts of the country cost $1.00 or more, the mailing system in Australia is behind and as a result can take up to a week to receive a package there. I found it interesting that you could meet different people in different parts of the country while doing this.

5. By attending your presentation about mail art I learned that it could be almost anything, even a banana.  I also learned that there is a type that is just added to and mailed to another person, and a type that is added to and mailed back to the original person.  I picked up one of the kits you gave out and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

6. I learned at the event that I can send mail art anywhere in the world and receive it back with different aspects of different cultures.

 7. I found it very neat that you can send art through the mail as a way to express yourself. Me personally I would never do it just for the fact the way the world is today it scares me. I would be afraid to send items to a random person or let random people have my address.

8. I really enjoyed the fact that one can interact with the whole world on all kinds of different countries.  Also, I like the fact that others can add or take away and create new pieces with what they have around the house.  I found it interesting that a piece of mail art took almost a year and a half to return back to you. 

9.Some of the things I learned was that Ray Johnson was the first to start and send mail art with his untitled collage in 1969. You can basically add anything you want to mail art like trash, fabric, stamps, colored paper, and all forms of art. Mail art is a form of constant conversation.

10. I really liked the mail art event, I took one of your starter kits and one thing that stood out to me was the amount of people that were involved in some the designs. I plan to give it a try.

11. I learned that every piece of mail art that comes into your mailbox should receive some sort of acknowledgement in return. And also I learned that mail artists do not charge money for their mail art.

12. I found the mail-art presentation fairly interesting and pretty cool. It was fun to learn about something I had never even heard of. I was always under the impression that anything being mailed required certain encasing or whatnot, but following along the other day, I learned that you can mail pretty much anything so long as there is postage stamp and an address included. I thought the concept of adding and returning is a really near gesture. Depending on who you mail to, there's no telling what you'll get in return.

13. I also enjoyed looking over your own personal mail-art collection. I found your thought it was cool how many shapes, sizes, & different stationery or material was used for each one. 

14. I liked how easy and simple it was to do the tape method one, and simple stamps on postcards!  May try it soon one day, got to catch the time to do it!  I did grab a packet, thanks.  One site to go on to sign up and register is IUOMA. 

[jon foster]

I wrote a bit about this, if anyone is interested and posted it on my blog. http://thejonfoster.blogspot.com/2014/10/results-from-mail-art-lect...

[jon foster]

Hello. I have no idea if anyone is going to make something and send it, but at least they know what the whole thing is about now. Just hold on, we shall see...I've made around 50 starter packets at this point and I'm sure one or two of them will get used.

 

@Carmela, I agree with you too. I imagine if I was able to make it to one of these gatherings that I would feel even more involved. Hopefully the students will feel supported by having someone to guide them, if they so need it.

 

@Vizma, I left that one in just for you. Someone asked about delivery times and I mentioned that a long distanced will take a little longer for a card to get to you. Somehow they put together that Australia has a bad postal system.

 

@Mim, did you get the book yet?

[Mim Golub Scalin]

Thanks for posting this response. I taught in an art program but my students had similar responses after being introduced to mail art. How fun that many of them will join us in sending mail. The more the you know what.

[vizma bruns]

Great job, Jon! Thanks for the update. "Australia's mailing system is behind." ...sigh.

[Rebecca Guyver]

Brilliant!

[Valentine Mark Herman]

Great stuff, Jon!

I've given similiar introductory presentations to European and American students. In an attempt to locate Mail Art in today's ever-changing artistic world, I emphasise the political/social/economic/democratic origins and aspects of Mail Art. Historically, I argue that Mulready envelopes were the first form of Mail Art when postage for the masses was introduced in 1840, and that Reginald Bray is the first Mail Artist whose work (circa 1900) has been extensively documented -- many years before Mr Johnson.

Your feedback from the students is valuable; thanks for sharing it with us, and let's hope that you've recruited ssome of the next generation of Mail Artists.

[Carmela Rizzuto]

Hi Jon--it looks like the attendees learned the basics of the mail art process--good job! I'm glad that you were able to focus on the international connections that can be made. FYI: I've actually met 2 mail artists from other countries, as well as a few here in the USA. A personal exchange makes a virtual network real. Thanks for posting.

[Thom Courcelle]

Three cheers for you, Jon!  What a great way to share art and cultural exchange with young people!

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

"neat".."cool"...like all 'round the world even.

Thanks , Jon, for spreading the word,

it will be good to get some "young blood" at IUOMA :-)