Male Art - for The New Alexandrian Library Small Books Collection - Erich Sundermann (Austria) David Dellafiora (Australia), Samuel Montalvetti (Australia) and Guido Vermeulen (Belgium)

[cheryl penn]

Corresponding with Erich means entering a world of make believe where lines are simple and borders are easily crossed. The Zine page call for Mail Art Makes the World a Town resulted in a full visual narrative titled The story of Sigi.

I'm not too sure how I'm going to deal with the Story of Sigi in the Zine - but as the starter page for Zine 3 - its GREAT!

This is a page from a chapbook titled Annie Fuente uns Carlo.  Please excuse the varying degrees of light on the images - I am chasing the sun around the house!

From David Delliafiora (Australia) - (Field Study), a book called Frank and Perforate. It sort of reminds me of Frank and John. The title of course perfectly validates the contents of this artists book.

Using hand canceling and perforations onto/into what looks like an ancient stamp catalogue, David perpetuates and fully corroborates book art based in the mail art genre. 

From Samuel Montalvetti (Argentini) a brim filled package which includes this book - similar in content to Davids, but executed in Samuel's own unique style.

As most of us know, Samuel creates small book works by recycling his envelopes - often creating add and pass projects - this one aint going NOWHERE! 

Included in Samuels packed package where his Zine pages and his continuing series of Visual Poetry booklets - I am really pleased to be building a collection of these:-)

From Guido Vermeulen (Belgium)  - Travels with Collages - I think I'm changing the library from small books to ALL books - I cant exclude ONE of the works I have received - size has become an irrelevant issue!

In an expected Guido envelope - The Three sisters of Fate - so much a part of Guido's book as I page through.

Double spread from the book - I think Guido has managed to source Max Ernst's material...

Original Collage too :-) from the Zine series

MANY thanks guys - come on GIRLS - where are your books?

[De Villo Sloan]

For me, the discussion has been interesting, but meandering (moreso than usual). The unconscious has been raised in terms of Guido's work and surrealism. Instinct - that works too. You can have a conscious intent, but you're seldom going to know what's compelling you unconsciously. I think Guido's art has raised all these things.

[cheryl penn]

I was thinking about intent AGAIN - and how sometimes working instinctually has no intent, until it does... The opposite of Guido??

[De Villo Sloan]

What is the opposite of Guido? I'd like to know.

[De Villo Sloan]

You know how the comment streams are a flux. Theresa made me think of Lady MacBeth's line because of the core book/face metaphor & then the opposites she talks about - an insincerity - that is a repression because Guido seems to me to be trying to cut through repression exactly, if this makes any sense & IF we can accept Guido's sincerity because, well Cheryl, do we ever know the author's/artist's real intents & motives?

[cheryl penn]

Theresa - thanks for that link - what amazing work :-) - as you observe - the primness clothing the chaos within  - all in all a strange era - NOT that they would find ours any better!! De Villo -  the continuum of ignorant present - even the bard suffered...   

Thy letters have transported me beyond

This ignorant present, and I feel now

The future in the instant.

[De Villo Sloan]

"Your face, my thane, is as a book where men

May read strange matters. To beguile the time,

Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye,

Your hand, your tongue. Look like th' innocent flower,

But be the serpent under ’t."

[De Villo Sloan]

Pretty cool, Theresa. Nothing new under the sun & all that.

[cheryl penn]

Ok - your last paragraph - I wont even PRETEND to know what you're talking about! But surrealism - its a fascinating topic - I'm willing to take that up when you are :-) - BUT I have to move past Mannerism where I'm at at the moment... X

[De Villo Sloan]

I think you pegged what the old prints are about in Guido's work & "Classical" Mail-art. It's surrealism.

Those old illustrations are reason, measurement, realism to perfection. When you start jumbling the images up you get surrealism. And wasn't Surrealism sort of a reaction against the Victorian anyway?

Opal Louis Nations was one of the big mail-art collage artists, even managed to publish a book with Ferlinghetti's City Lights. Rain Rein Nevermind knew exactly who I was talking about and wrote: "S/he is still waxing poetic and working in a record store."

[cheryl penn]

I can wish I guess... ;-O!