Postcards from the Edge: Chrissy Core (Canada), Carina Granlund (Finland) and Richard Canard (USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by Chrissy Core (aka DaDa Witch) (Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada)

 

October 30, 2013 - All postcards are not mail-art, but some postcards make very good mail-art. Lately I have received some edgy postcards from mail-artists that I am very pleased to be able to share with you now.

First is work by Canadian artist Chrissy Core aka DaDa Witch. Chrissy Core's art is very distinctive and highly conceptual. Much of her work that I have seen so far tends toward black, white and shades of grey. She creates designs that reference woven textiles and/or organic shapes (bio-poetry). At times, they suggest a circulatory system. Single words and phrases function as minimalist poetry, and much of her work qualifies as visual poetry.

The illustration on the reverse side represents another repeating theme I have detected in Chrissy Core's work: holes and pipe-like shapes protruding from (or into) holes. So I am thrilled to pronounce Chrissy Core is a practitioner of Holism.

Many thanks, I look forward to more exchanges!

Mail-art by IUOMA member Carina Granlund (Petsmo, Finland)

 

Carina Granlund is a dear friend and longtime MinXus-Lynxus correspondent. I was absolutely wowed by her hand-colored photos during the summer. This time she has sent a wonderful, cryptic collage-postcard.

American motels and roadside attractions are a recurring M-L theme, so this is a wonderfully appropriate addition to the vast archives, along with a similar Karen Eliot piece she sent some time ago. I like the spacious and pristine appearance of these sites in Finland. In fact, I find them superior to their equivalents in the USA, at least from a visual perspective. They are very enticing and, perhaps this is subjective, mysterious. Carina, with her extraordinary gift for collage, has constructed a partial and indeterminate narrative with these images.

As the conceptual writers contend, why create text when so much already exists? The reverse side of Carina Granlund's postcard (above) features some excellent found (and slightly altered) text that adds further to the narrative.

Deepest thanks, Carina! I appreciate that you are staying connected.

Mail-art by IUOMA member Richard Canard (Carbondale, Illinois, USA)

Many IUOMA members will immediately recognize Richard Canard as a regular and devoted correspondent. I have received some fantastic work from him recently, much of which is being held back for possible inclusion in the much-anticipated "Conceptual Trashpo" essay. I hope to be able to post that soon, but it is requiring some exhaustive research and contemplation.

This Dolly Parton stunner Richard Canard sent fits perfectly with the edgy postcard theme. Lately, Richard has been writing about his "redneck" roots in the southern United States, even taking a conservative position on the controversial subject of gun control. I encourage autobiographical meditation and find his assertions thought provoking. Yet I am compelled to add that Richard Canard has always shown an affinity to PopArt. Even disguised by political rhetoric, there is a strong and consistent aesthetic in his choice of images. Dolly Parton is no exception.

Sylvester Stallone creates a fine binary opposition to Dolly Parton. All I can recall of the Philadelphia Museum steps, however, is a Rodin sculpture.

Thanks to Chrissy Core, Carina Granlund and Richard Canard for keeping the art of correspondence as well as correspondence art alive and thriving.

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi Rebecca, Richard's closing message about Sylvester Stallone has me stumped. A Rodin sculpture is at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum, no? It's in the Rocky movie. What am I missing?

[Rebecca Guyver]

Highly enjoyable stuff! Richard's story makes me laugh. 

[De Villo Sloan]

Thank you for the m-a & comment, Carina. More to come as I am always hopelessly behind on posting.

"Postcards from the Edge" is the title of the book & film by Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia, of course. These are, for sure, some edgy postcards; so I took the risk of appropriating the title.

I am also thrilled to sponsor here the IUOMA debut of Chrissy Core, perhaps the twin sister of Ross Priddle.

[Carina]

Great blog and assembling, DVS. Thank you! I have a poster on my studio wall that says; Out On the Edge..