Mail Art Triptychs: A Retrospective by Nancy Bell Scott, Carina Granlund, Lucky Pierre, Kerri Pullo + more!

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail Art triptych by De Villo Sloan (NY, USA) for Karen Champlin (Illinois, USA) (circa 2013). Part of a call by Bifidus Jones (Minnesota, USA)

 

March 22, 2019 - In yesterday’s blog I mentioned the creation of mail art triptychs a few years back & promised to find some examples in the labyrinthine MinXus-Lynxus Archives. Ever true to my dear IUOMA friends, here are some examples from this interesting phase. The artists tend to be folks still active in the current network.

The triptychs were straight-forward three panel affairs (such as the one above) or tri-panel structures associated with the popular surge in artist’s books that was also taking place at that time. These include books with a total of six panels that can stand upright or even cards (ATCs) in sets of three.  Participants were generally aware that other network artists were experimenting with the form & tried it themselves.

 

Mail Art triptychs by Nancy Bell Scott (Maine, USA) (circa August 2013)

 

 

Mail art triptych by Carina Granlund (Finland) (circa 2014)

 

 

 

Mail art triptych by Kerri Pullo (Arizona, USA) (2011)

 

Mail art triptych by Lucky Pierre (South Carolina, USA) (circa 2015)

 

 

Mail art triptych by Marie Wintzer (Japan) (circa 2012)

 

 

 

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail artist & IUOMA member the great Alicia Starr Ryan (Iowa, USA) shared with me a triptych she received from Carina Granlund (Finland) apparently in 2014. I do not believe this one has been documented until now. So I'm thrilled to add it to what turned out to be a most interesting retrospective. Thx Alicia. Thx IUOMA friends.

[Richard Canard]

23.03.19 Dare MIster De Villo Sloan, Ms. Jayne Barket Lyons, et al (all of ya'll),  ...What? What blasphemy! Dkult is for real!!! & from such noble & humble beginnings...What do you think this is? Some kind of "Reformation"?   You, De Villo Sloan "are no Martin Luther".  If Dkult, Trash Po & the Litter of our entire existence is not the Right Stuff;  then, I'm  not the  "Jim Bakker of Mailart". & I'm for "rell"(fake),...er, "rill"(fake), uh,  "wryl" (fake)...you know what's right . SinCelery, Richard Canard

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Haha! Love it!

[De Villo Sloan]

Jayne, you shouldn't get me started. Here's one of the portable DKult shrines from the Trashpo group. You can see it's a triptych. (Poor DK, she never asked for any of that.)

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Yes, I caught on that thekulter triptychs were not spiritual. Nothing wrong with secular ones...

[De Villo Sloan]

And on the triptych genre - Marie Wintzer is French, from Alsace and I'm sure grew up Catholic. I suspect she started the triptych thing, which was just probably integral to her culture. Charming kind of - she used this form familiar to her. The kulters did make them, tho. And of course triptychs made of trash - well, that's dk.

The m-a triptychs are obviously secular. People were interested in the 3-part structure and creating visual narratives. It's like writing sonnets. Just a cultural form.

Just wanted to make the point there was nothing particularly spiritual about it.

In fact, the Minxus triptych is fairly blasphemous.

Anyway, good points.

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Oh, no! So sorry to hear. :(

[De Villo Sloan]

No Jayne, it's a fair question. The very fine and active ATC group at IUOMA still bears Karen Champlin's name.

I believe KC passed away but I am embarrassed to report I went through an unexpected crisis of my own and don't remember exactly the course of events w/Karen. Bifidus Jones did a mail call for her. All this has come back as a result of the triptychs and I'll have to refresh my memory. Karen had a lot of IUOMA friends so maybe someone can help here.

KC was an extraordinary asemic writer and very early. I do want re-post some of her vispo at af2. She was never discovered by Michael Jacobson and those folks.

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

I was just recalling seeing many examples of Catholic triptych and diptych icons. Making triptych for m-a was a cool idea. I feel odd about asking, but did Karen pass away? You use was / were when you speak of her.

[De Villo Sloan]

Jayne Lions! Thanks. The triptychs are tremendous. And you do have network faves & raves applying their unique talents. Lotta people who went on to become vispo & asemic stars, like, jeez Nancy Bell Scott, Carina Granlund  Kerri Pullo - her paper clips are great. Probably Marie Wintzer started it.

I think Cheryl Penn did some - I just could only dig in the archives for so long.

Triptychs are actually a fascinating genre in European & Russian art.

Now I believe Diane Keys did triptychs as well. But I have gaps due to a hard drive meltdown and moving.

You note the use of found material. That's the vast influence of Trashpo on everyone. I did use garbage bag twist ties. Karen Champlin was an extraordinary mail artist and visual poet. She was very ill so that piece was heartfelt. Karen was deeply religious. But I used the MinXus symbolism of the blue tape and tangerine. I know it would have been OK with her. We were really close.

Now the triptychs might have started with the Dkult Portable Shrines. Kulters made these little shrines with a pic of Diane and an Elgin Shroud shred they could carry, put by their beds, etc.

But in searching the archives I didn't come up with shrine pics. tis what it tis