Received: Election season mail-art from Bifidus Jones (St. Paul, Minnesota, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Bifidus Jones (St. Paul, Minnesota, USA)

November 3, 2010 - Bifidus Jones sent me mail-art in response to receiving my chapter for Cheryl Penn's "The Crimsoned Giant" book project. The real content comes next, but I wanted to start with this wonderful envelope. Bifidus continues to develop a very distinctive style characterized by an overlay of flowing cursive script intermixed with stamped letters and images and bits of collage. I can see the lure of haptic poetry Bifidus is experiencing: The style is at least flirting with creating the illusion of spatial depth - am I getting through? - the concept of three-dimensionality. Yet the envelope was only the messenger:

First, how are people finding this great old stuff to recycle? Karen Champlin locates old rubber stamps. And Bifidus finds this expense report - I love it. I look everywhere and find nothing like this. Anyway, here's the context. With my "The Crimsoned Giant" chapter, I sent Bifidus a note - which is posted somewhere I believe - but do you remember notes you sent to people with your mail-art? I have no recollection of notes I wrote people and thus am horrified when they're posted online - time after time. Perhaps I wrote Bifidus the usual unfair and unjust rant about the Republic of Minnesota; probably there was a reference to monkeys. I think there was some commentary about Cheryl's shirt which was, jeez, that wasn't fair at all because I liked the blue shirt. I remember hearing from Bifidus that President Obama was visiting Minnesota at the time. I think the idea was that I'm supposed to mail this to Obama, or it might be something Obama is sending to me - linear narrative isn't one of my strong points, have you noticed? You know, there are mail-artists who send their work to people in the public arena. Ficus, I think, has the Obamas on his mailing list. If I did something like that, the Men in Black would be at the door so fast... I'm really unlucky that way. Any possible readers are gone at this point, which is too bad, because the flip side of the envelope is cool too:

So about the monkeys. Regardless of where or how it fits into some larger story, Bifidus provides an important perspective: "Not every monkey wants to be saved." That is cautionary advice when considering a very large effort on behalf of someone or something else. It raises issues about choice, free will, the forces of nature. In the case of the Monkey Purge, a handful of pitiful creatures - maligned and exploited already - had been heartlessly turned out on the cold streets. Perhaps the real issue behind it involved their skills and the availability of training and education that would allow them to be productive and happy once again. Were they owed that? So at least they could make a choice? One contention was even made that the Monkey Purge was responsible for causing the second slump in the overall global economic downturn. I personally don't believe it - that's overblown. Perhaps the real heart of the matter involves Purges themselves, and the monkeys provided a convenient opportunity to raise a point for discussion, which could easily be any number of interesting points, but for whatever reason resulted with a focus on that one particular point. I'll be glad to be done with monkeys. But I am happy to have some excellent mail-art from friends in their honor.

This blog is about art and presents text and images of art for thoughtful discussion among mail-artists and to encourage creative free expression only. This blog is not meant or intended to malign or offend any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, institution, company or individual. This blog is not meant in any way to do harm including but not limited to defamation, intimidation, libel or injury in any form to any individuals.

[cheryl penn]

STOP deleting!!

[cheryl penn]

I'm in on the therapist thing - are they trans-continental? I LIKE being a project manager :-)) Glad you're on board with Alexander - its a post book project - will have to tell Lauriana whose about-to-be-posted booklets look abfab. She's only dishing up for 11 - you make 13, a lucky number... Katerina from The Land of Alex is also done. So get cracking - we must be done before Santa's reindeer run into Bucephalus and there's another purge.

[De Villo Sloan]

Oh man, had to delete the last one.

[cheryl penn]

Its not for nothing they're called a TROOP. Weird the monkey thing. More weird is how the little ones put their hands up against the glass and squish their faces to look inside - its really odd - they look like an alternate people source. If the album is yet to be released remind me to stay under the pillows that day. Alexander not for you? BUT - I do have another thing in mind.... I am going to have to give up 'work' - I REALLY cant describe what I do as that and become a full time IUOMA employee. You had your excellent debut with TCG now I would like to see some other work! I'll even settle for a monkey wearing a blue shirt.

[De Villo Sloan]

Yes, into the bin of things tried that did not yield. Now I'm going to get mixed up between emails and posts. I bet people miss the blue shirt - a non-issue turned into an issue. No more of that! I promise. OK - but here's one final STRANGE bit in the whole story. On the day - on the EXACT day - I did my final rant about the Monkey Purge - that was the day a troop of REAL monkeys burst through your window and started running around in your house. I knew then this was nothing to fool with. Do you remember the story about the Beach Boys guy - was it Brian Wilson? - who wouldn't allow an album to be released because he believed when the music started playing buildings would burst into flames? Now I know why so many people stick with bunnies. Let's stick to TCG - and what's a new project? I need to be focused on something productive.

[cheryl penn]

See what happens when you read??? You get to be educated on M.P's (you said you hoped they would be done!) and blue shirts... Hey De Villo, heretofor all M's and blue shirts are...

[Marie Wintzer]

Love the "Champion of Liberty" stamps. Bifidus' stuff is so unique.
Ok, I promise not to publish any note you would add in your mail. Most probably.

[Bifidus Jones]

IUOMA has parallel platforms moving simultaneously and believe me I know, it is challenging keeping up with everyone's threads, even our own. Monkeys come up regularly at this site--mostly by you, i swear (like monkey effigy mounds-or did I make that one up? :-)) I originally intended to mail the note as a response to your very first MA to me, back in September when Minnesota was in flames and you told me to save the monkeys. Then my idea seemed to be a better response to this year's election campaign, but you made it work as a stand alone piece by successfully exploring the meaning of said message (bleh. bad sentence structure, i know). Glad you like the travel expense sheet and envelope. I don't know where everyone else gets their ephemera--I inherited a soggy barn full of the stuff. i'll probably be shoveling it through the postal service forever