i received Mail Art from Adam Roussopoulos

[Zack]

not sure if DOD post is Adam's nom de plume...?

thanks for these odd somewhat morbid stamps, whatever the original source. 

i've definitely had flashes of the sentiment expressed here, but hopefully it will be a long time before i start using these stamps in earnest. i must admit the image strikes me as creepy and goofily irreverent at the same time; the black humor of the surrealists? rabbit? duck? 

[Adam Roussopoulos]

I am sorry to hear of the losses both you Zack and Bradford have had to deal with recently. I was slightly reluctant to make and send these out. I do tend to lean more towards a dark humor in trying times, I think it helps to cope and I also just think most things in general are laced with an absurd humor if one’s willing to look for it. I am happy to see this has generated an open and heartfelt conversation, I’m not sure one can hope for much more when creating something and putting it out into the world. Thank you Zack, Bradford and Carien for sharing and opening up.

[Bradford]

Yes, Carien, there have been many articles about the permanence of cyberspace in which mere mortals create a persona for themselves and leave for an undetermined eternity.  I know my father especially has much out there somewhere as when he could no longer restore classic Triumph motorcycles, he turned his attention to Apple computers, hotrodding older chassis with new cards bought off eBay and commiserating with techies to learn tricks and tips.  No doubt, there's some strongly worded comments on blogs about the company he called "Microsuck".

[Carien van Hest]

My condolences to you, Thom and Bradford.

another thing...

Modern times brings along some difficult situations concerning the people we only know from digital platforms. Although many, many accounts of us will continue to exist forever in cyberspace, the people behind it may already long gone... And some of us pop up after years of absence (certainly here on IUOMA - where the average age is defenitely over 50, I guess).

[Zack]

sorry to hear of your recent losses, Bradford. someone once told me that for a while we subscribe to the illusion that our lives are our own, but as we age, we begin to comprehend how much our lives 'belong' to others. still, we must live; as Duchamp reminds us (from beyond the grave), 'c'est toujours les autres qui meurent'. as a libra, i'm always looking for how to balance the dark with the light.

[Bradford]

I think it's terribly appropriate.  Since 2020, it has been an unending series of deaths of family and friends.  For example, I have travelled 7,000 miles ( ~ 11,250 km) this year attending memorials for both of my parents who passed away just 3 months apart. Thanksgiving was spent with a friend terminal with cancer, but thankful since he's outlived the life expectancy his doctor stated early this year.

Adam's stamp and sentiment here is well taken, but then again, we tend to have a dark sense of humor in my family (on both sides) that helps us through any hardships.

[Thom Courcelle]

I think you hit on Adam's intended stylistic sense pretty well. Although there is, indeed, a sort of truth in the deadpan statement of his artistamps here.  (Case-in-point, I'm attending another funeral of an old classmate today...only a week from the last memorial I attended!) Once you hit a certain age, it certainly seems like a truism!