Superb mail-art holes by Not Hi Ng (San Pablo, California, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Not Hi Ng (San Pablo, California, USA)

June 9, 2013 - Last year MinXus-Lynxus sponsored the very successful International Exhibition of Holes mail-art call.

The concept caught the interest of Not Hi Ng, and for good reason. His Institute of Art Agnosticism explores, among many other ponderous subjects, the relation of art to nothing. (Ray Johnson shared a similar preoccupation.)

Art that contains holes, I can only use my best powers of reason here, is composed partially of nothing. Indeed, a stated purpose of the International Exhibition of Holes was to encourage the end of art; the work of art would gradually be replaced with nothing. That goal was certainly not achieved, but we did manage to receive some fantastic work, much of it highly conceptual in nature.

Not Hi Ng is well-known for his work with Trashpo. This contribution to the exhibition reveals his ability with minimalist art, which I believe is far more difficult to produce than it appears.

The International Exhibition of Holes was primarily curated by Marie Wintzer (aka Empress Marie Antonette). She did marvellous work, and much of the MinXus hole collection resides in Japan. Contributions, such as this, also found their way to me and MinXus USA headquarters.

Not Hi Ng's stirring hole piece begins with the envelope. In fact, it contains several holes:

Here is the reverse side with a stamp about Nail Art: This is yet another fascinating pursuit of Not Hi Ng:

Here is the central piece Not Hi Ng submitted for the exhibition. The opening scan is a detail shot of this work:

So there is a language dimension to the work too. Not Hi Ng's always carefully chosen words reveal much if you take time to contemplate them. The envelope also included a much smaller hole, presented here in relation to a MinXus button relic:

I thank Not Hi Ng profusely for this wonderful contribution to the International Exhibition of Holes and for all the fantastic work he has sent to MinXus-Lynxus.

Make sure to visit Not Hi Ng's webpage where you can learn more about the Institute of Art Agnosticism and Nail Art, among other nothings:

http://artagnostics.com/

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks, Carina, on this anniversary of Solar Festival 2012 and the Refrigerator Performances that launched the international exhibition.