The Haptic Werewolf strikes again!!

[DKeys]

Everything about your work is bright, vibrant and fun--thank you for all you sent me something is on its way to you and hopefully it gets there before the full moon!!

[De Villo Sloan]

Hey, some of us are approaching Easter. Maybe it's the death and rebirth myth with some of these folks? Diane, I'm not surprised about your anti-glam position.

[DKeys]

It's like Andy Kaufman faking his own death.  They're either being prophetic or cursing themselves and then they are the boy who cried death.  I am a member of the Anti-Glam Movement. The catchy slogan is No Glitz No Glory-it's just about the art.  Ernie, I love non-traditional framing and those voodoo tiki masks are cool.  Flat mail to you from now on. That full body search was pretty intrusive

[De Villo Sloan]

Erni, I'm just glad you've chosen mail-art. I think it gives you a larger audience than most artists could hope for. For instance, how could some of us in the US have ever discovered your work in Hamburg otherwise?

 

These fake death announcements going back to Da Da are morbidly fascinating. When Grigori Antonin & I were playing some fairly outrageous mail-art pranks on each other, a perfect opportunity arose to issue a fake death notice. After all, Ray did it, right? I found when faced with something like that, it was just too creepy. Some things should not be messed with? Going back in history, it's amazing to find whatever it is, someone probably attempted it.

[De Villo Sloan]

I thought Erni was achieving the status of known-unknown artist.

 

I am trying to find a link to the Ray Johnson article I mentioned earlier. There is some degree of strangeness involved with his death and the mail-art network. He had a history of hoaxes in this area. He was known to issue announcements of his own death periodically. I think he might have even sent fake death notices to the NY Times. When he really died, many at first thought it was yet another hoax.

 

After his death, his disciples continued to send out mail-art using his signature. So some people believed he was still alive. There was apparently at one point a semi-scandal involving these fake Ray Johnsons. Sometimes I imagine today Johnson & Co. are presented as these sort of Norman Rockwell founding fathers of the art. The contribution is undeniable, but those people were STRANGE. All of us are tame in comparison, IMHO.

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

'Love your gluepics, Erni. I care about what you do...and how generous you are with the sandpaper and the chocolate,(mmmm,  yummy!) And don't think that we do not pay attention to the art work and assemblage we see in photos (like what art is on the wall behind you in the photo of you sipping tea in Cheryl's gift cup.... ) Oh, yes, indeedy, I pay special attention to those ingenious art pieces on display in your home. Perhaps I should have commented on them before, but know that they are extremely artistic and captivating. As is this UHU piece, and all your collages!

[De Villo Sloan]

The "midnight shopping" section in Erni's piece seems DK-esque.

 

Erni - about Ray Johnson's finances. I read an article or interview with/by the Cracker Jack Kid recently. He is an IUOMA member and has written much abut mail-art. I am sure the article said Ray Johnson had about $400,000 (US dollars) in his bank account when he died in the 1990s. That, I think, would be no small success for a visual artist. It's sort of morbid, but the article is out there on the net.

[DKeys]

not that YOU are an artist at small--I am:)

[DKeys]

I care about what you do-love and appreciate it AND your generosity with your gift. I suppose I will also remain an artist at small for the time being. I guess the act of sharing it is the mission regardless of whether or not it sticks anywhere. Hard to fathom why Ray Johnson would take his own life. Maybe he was too far ahead of his time. THey asked for everything but my blood type to send a box to you.  Which is, by the way, O positive:)