Post-Pop w/ATCs by Carina Granlund (Petsmo, Finland)

[De Villo Sloan]

 

“Keep the Engines Running” by Carina Granlund (Petsmo, Finland)

September 27, 2015 - Carina Granlund sent me a mail art package with a Post-Pop theme, including the fantastic piece above. The work is approximately 5 X 7 inches and appears to be a decollage mounted on a litho or etching (remember I am not a visual artist). 

I have offered recent commentary about how and why PopArt has endured in the Eternal Network, and I named Carina Granlund as one of my fave innovators. (I argued that the evolution of PopArt in the network, due to the influence of Ray Johnson, should be considered separately from the fate of Pop in the mainstream artworld.) A scan cannot convey the tremendous textures or overall high quality of this original piece by Carina. Nevertheless, here is a detail pic that hopefully reveals more:

Carina Granlund, as many networkers know, does FAB and highly original art using images from comics and vintage magazines and postcards. She has also achieved wonderful textures and tones in her work using various kinds of transfer processes. Here is the reverse side:

She also included a torn, altered book page. Ambiguous pieces such as this now seem obligatory in mailings by people involved in Trashpo:

Is it a finished work? A studio scrap that escaped the waste basket? Intended for use in a collaborative work? Some variant of add-and-pass?

I do not know, and I believe I had a minor role encouraging this practice, although similar inclusions go back to the old Fluxus and beyond. Usually, I keep pieces like this for archives and do not recycle them. Many artists, however, do recycle them. This mailing by Carina Granlund also contained mounted ATCs:

The reverse sides of the ATCs in their wrappers:

Here are the cards:

And the reverse:

The envelope:

Close-up of the trash stamp:

Many thanks to Carina Granlund!

[Carina]

It's good to see you, Thom! I hope you are busy creating...

[Thom Courcelle]

This is great. Thanks B.G. for the technique rundown--was trying to figure out how the effect underneath the collage in the top photo was possible. Carina's work is always humbly inspiring. Hats off! Lucky DeVillo!

[De Villo Sloan]

Thanks Richard, Theodore Moore, BG and, of course, Carina. The monoprint/collage has stolen the show (on my FB anyway) but we have really interesting commentary on the rest of the package: ATCs. collage scraps, etc. Theodore Moore should be writing the blog commentary! Great insights.

I do want to address the inclusion of scrap pieces, especially in Trashpo mailings. A bit of research indicates that our reigning Prince of Pop - Richard - might have invented that as well - at least the current incarnation of the practice. I am now searching for a piece of a cereal box that might have started the whole thing.

Thx again to our Careen-a for a truly FAB mailing.

[Richard Canard]

28.09.15 Dare De Villo S., ... yeah, Ms. Carina Granlund  always seems to have a way of making  Trash Pop more interesting....even those dinky little ATCs  (Richard is prejudicial about ATCs ---although he understands it is simply a matter of scale) some how take on more charm & mystery...It is always a treat to see what she is up to. Thanks for posting. Richard Canard

[Carina]

Thanks for the great blog, DVS. Good to see my scrap pieces made it to MinXus-LynXus III. The altered book page + what you write make it all more interesting, and for a moment my mind is trying to reveal something new, but closes the next minute!
BG is right, it's a small monoprint mixed with collage. Thank you all for the encouragement!

[Theodore Moore]

Stunning collages! Some of the textures are visible in the photos. I especially like the interplay of fragmented limbs in the "Vertigo" card and the range of rough tears and soft paper textures in "Keep the Engines Running" in addition to the strong feminist use of pop comic images.  

[borderlinegrafix]

I believe the substrate of the collage is one of her monotypes that she has been doing lately.  This involves using a metal or plexiglas plate and applying ink - then drawing into the ink before printing.

Nice work, Carina!