The Two Sides of Dan Mouer (Richmond, Virginia, USA)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Dan Mouer (Richmond, Virginia, USA)

February 9, 2014 - Once upon a time, Dan Mouer was a denizen of New York City, active in avant art and the counter-culture underground. Today, he is known and admired in the Eternal Network for his art that is traditionally aesthetic and rightfully considered "fine art" by many admirers. That reputation is growing.

Dan seems to have reconciled opposing tendencies of art and anti-art within himself, a challenge that could stymie lesser talents and drive them into tortured silence. This, I believe, enables him to be an innovator in Trashpo (with deep roots in anti-art) while simultaneously producing stunning work on other fronts.

Dan Mouer has produced memorable collabs with Queen of Trash Diane Keys (Elgin, Illinois, USA) and he is founder of a DKult Chapter: DKULTVA, among other contributions.

Due to a groundswell of popular support from Trashpoets, Dan Mouer has been nominated as 2014 DKult Trashpo Spokesmodel, based on the release of the photo that opens this blog. This is also partially the result of the fact that Diane Keys was also named official 2014 Dkult Trashpo Spokesmodel via KDJ (San Quentin Prison, California, USA?), THE COMMITTEE and the venerable TrashPo Litzer Prizes. I gather there was a sense that there should be gender equity among spokesmodels. His nomination is under review, but I have no doubt that Diane Keys and Dan Mouer will soon be reigning official 2014 Trashpo Spokesmodels. 

"Money shot" detail from mail-art by Dan Mouer

Diane Keys - official 2014 Trashpo Spokesmodel.

Included in this wonderful envelope I received from Dan Mouer are examples of what I am calling his "fine art."

I think this is a wonderfully conceived mail-art package because it illustrates brilliantly the range of Dan Mouer's work. The piece above even has asemic elements: Incredibly thoughtful, thanks Dan! The envelope also echoes the theme of duality:

The reverse:

Deepest thanks to Dan Mouer for this fantastic and historic mail-art. It shall be enshrined in the DKULTNY archives for eternity, and we will resist the impulse to try to sell copies via D-Kollectibles.

[De Villo Sloan]

Dan & Richard, your excellent remarks crystallize the tightrope (tigh trope) I always walk commenting as much as I do on mail-art received: To state appreciation & how I react to the art without imposing the limits set by critics & institutions. To be humorously serious & seriously humorous in the same breathe. It's a fine line; Dan's work here illustrates the point perfectly.

[Richard Canard]

09.02.14 Dare Mister Dan Mouer,....yes, your appreciation of Sir DeVillo Sloan's commentary is entirely appropriate as he  seems to be habitually popping  up at the IUOMA in an  appreciative  & thoughtful mode....& too, I find your statement about  "serious" art, playfulness, (all that "sex" talk however sounds maybe  a little too Freudian to me [fundamentally theoretical or philosophical & all above my head ]---or is that what they mean by "subliminal"???) anti-art, poking fun, & back to "serious" again somewhat similar to how I've always felt about this 'mail art' business......... & although I don't know about  the paintings of which you speak (Mister Ryder's series of 200) I suspect that anyone who creates hundreds of images of teapots (or pursues diligently any theme) is busy at work exploring "all the possibilities" & knows something about "seeing the world in a grain of sand". All best to you. Richard Canard

[De Villo Sloan]

Thx Dan - great comment.

[Dan Mouer]

NOW I am blushing...

DVS...I do appreciate your comments. To me "serious" art is taken way too seriously. I enjoy making art of all sorts, but art-making to me is fun, stress-relieving, expressive, a pure form of adult play almost as entertaining as that other popular pure form of adult play (S-E-X) which gets taken way too seriously much of the time. The anti-art aspects of mail art give me a fork to poke in the eyes (and tight backsides) of the art establishment, while nonetheless being just as "serious" an endeavor to me as any other form of creative play.

I give a lot of credit to my partner, Robin Ryder, for teaching me to play through art. What bunnies were to Ray Johnson, teapots have been for Rob. In his last solo show, he exhibited over 200 playful, expressive, experimental paintings of teapots...most of them serving as supreme eye candy while nonetheless inviting "serious" contemplation about all sorts of aesthetic issues, but all in the form of cartoonish teapots. At Christmas 2009 Rob gave me a copy of the book "Good Mail Day," and since then I have learned to take my very best most "serious" artwork and turn it into mail art. I have, indeed "Gone Postal."

Thanks, again DVS. I take your commentary to be high praise indeed from the man I see as DKULT's principal critic and historian, an accomplished mail-art scholar, and a very cool mail-artist!

[De Villo Sloan]

Rebecca, I think in the city they knew him as "Steely Dan."

Diane, like you, I communicate with KDJ frequently. The prisons are very enlightened about giving the inmates internet access, under supervised conditions, of course.

KDJ has taken a deep personal interest in Dan's nomination as 2014 DKult Trashpo Spokesmodel after having seen the now infamous b-side pic. In fact, I bet KDJ would like an original for those long prison nights (after lights out).

She will see that the nomination passes through THE COMMITTEE speedily and with a positive outcome.

When you received the spokesmodel nod, KDJ took it hard.

[Rebecca Guyver]

Great reading on a rainy Sunday in England! Dan the man!

[DKeys]

Don't believe that Dan, DKollectibles already has most of this stuff for sale on ebay.  Love the leaf piece so beautiful. are those actualy painted leaves or is this a digital piece? Dan is a great spokesmodel and the committee has agreed to fasttrack his award if he shows the flip side. they (KDJ) doesn't like surprises.  great blog!!