New Directions in Trashpo (IV): Working Classpo by Thom Courcelle (Seattle, Washington, USA) + DKult stamps & poem for Valentine Mark Herman

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Thom Courcelle (Seattle, Washington, USA)

July 5, 2013 - I am late in documenting this extraordinary mail-art from Thom Courcelle. Now that I have, I am including it in my ongoing "New Directions in Trashpo" series. The contents of this envelope is full of fun, wit and also some amazing innovations in Trashpo.

Thom Courcelle focused on workplace trash for this mail-art. This is a relatively unusual approach; it adds a new dimension to Trashpo as social critique as well as anthropological field study. Thom even included Trashpo he generated. I am still pondering whether to call this Working ClassPo? CuPo (cubicle poetry)? or something else? In the office environment, post-it notes are more common than flies and often more annoying. Has post-itpo already been established? Thom Courcelle integrates it into his work.

Contemporary office environments are often presented as pristine models of efficiency, deeply committed to recycling and social responsibility. I believe many who have worked in these environments (correct me if you disagree!) find with me that they are in actuality incredibly inefficient and wasteful, especially in the area of paper and cardboard. What a tremendous area for the undercover Trashpoet!

Thom sent all this amazing found office material, which I have spread out on the scanner. This is Trashpo at its most elemental and basic. We are used to seeing Trashpo that presents the marketing side of consumer culture: soft drink cans, candy bar wrappers, marketing brochures, etc. Office Trashpo reveals another facet of the consumer culture, which in some aspects is more human, yet not completely humane because it reveals people working within a hierarchy usually responsible, in ways great and small, for the maintenance of that system.

Trashpo by Thom Courcelle (Seattle, Washington, USA)

One of the many things I like about this mail-art is that Thom was actually engaged in the process of creating the Trashpo and recognized the fact. More often, Trashpoets collect discarded material and recycle it into mail-art. Thom's work displays a self-referential or self-aware quality. Most of us, I am sure, engage in work activities outside of art. How do we reconcile the different aspects of our lives? Fluxus calls for a unification of life and art. How can that be achieved? I think Thom both raises the hard questions of existence and offers some answers. 

Thom Courcelle's poem for Valentine Mark Herman

Poem by Thom Courcelle

Included with the Office Trashpo was this very interesting, somewhat concrete, poem by Thom. I really like it for the calligraphy and shape. In a nod to St. Empress Marie Antonette (Saitama, Japan), this work also includes Holism. 

A very nice poem indeed!

Thom is also a recognized stamp master, and this wondrous envelope also contained some great stamp material:

DKult stamps are among my favs, so I really appreciate it. Here is a close in:

True mail-artist that he is, Thom Courcelle never fails to provide great envelopes:

And the reverse:

Truly wondrous! Many thanks to Thom Courcelle.

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi Thom, the reaction to this work has been extraordinary, here and in the Trashpo group.

It's my great pleasure to inform you Not Hi Ng has nominated you for a TrashPo Litzer, and THE COMMITTEE is reviewing the materials. Personally, I think it's guaranteed. 

[Thom Courcelle]

Wow!  Super nice blog, DVS... thanks for posting!  I'm typing this from the office, and looking at all that recycle bin trashpo I sent is having a very strange surreal-ish effect on my brain.  Looking at the pictures... they match the handwriting and other wrick-wrack on my desk.  AAahahhHHHhhhh!!!!

 

My artistamp nationality is the République du Coeur  =  literally, "Republic of the Heart," which I thought was a cute play on my last name ("Cour"-celle).  And you got it, Viz--that was the Corn Husk Doll artistamp that I did for Halloween one year.  Had some left-overs that DeVillo got in his envelope.

I will message you the translation of the poem, Viz (so as not to de-mystify those who don't want to know).  There is an English version, and a French version and they are both slightly different, because I wrote it as a lymeric and I wanted them to rhyme in each language version.  The poem was written for Val's "square envelope" mail art call, and I wrote each version of the poem--one on each side--around the perimeter of the envelope.  So the above picture was a tester sheet to see how much space I had (and how small I would have to write) in order to fit the whole poem in one "loop" around the envelope perimeter, while still leaving room for the stamp.  As you can see on the tester sheet, it didn't fit during that trial--I had to wrap it.

[De Villo Sloan]

Super Sleuth Viz! Thom also has the "Cobtastic" stamp so he was building a secondary corn theme. He's just plain cornery. 

I think with the poem I don't want to know. It's OK if others do. 

This makes me realize DK has a much bigger collection of Nadine's Hollywood Trashpo than mine. This could be a gold mine for DKULTNY. Must think about this.

[vizma bruns]

Aha! I zoomed into the stamp and believe it says Corn 'Husk Doll', not Corn Dark Wall!  

All I can translate from the poem is Sigean-pigeon, mail artist and butterfly. I think I get the drift.

Hollywood trash, I love it!!

[De Villo Sloan]

Nadine sent me a batch of Hollywood Trashpo that I need to post too.

[DKeys]

Maybe it's a prelude to Ursinate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X7E2i0KMqM

[DKeys]

Nadine frequently sends me 100 percent, ripped from the streets, Hollywood Trashpo. I recently received a box addressed to "Trashpo Curator" that contained things that document her travels. I mention this, because it is workpo as many items indicate her work as a movie extra/performer. The recent installment came with a fake scar/movie prop.   I didn't take it the KE meant anything, just that it was the beginning of the nonsense alias, but I could be wrong.

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi DK, Raphael 'L & Vizma,

We are definitely seeing many creative approaches to Trashpo.

Vizma, I don't get the "K.E." either. It's taken me a while to blog this, so there might be references to something we have forgotten. But I don't see "Corn Dark Wall" anywhere.

"Republique du Coeur" is Republic of the Passionate Cause or the Heartfelt Cause or something?

You can translate the Val poem.

[DKeys]

It seems as if Bonnie works a lot too. We get to be flies on the walls at Thom's job==circling the trash bin. In doing so, he is forging an energetic connection between us and his work life. Great envelope=!!

[Raphael'L]

office trashpo... This is very inspiring!