>>The Act of Resistance Through [Mail]Art<<

[Thom Courcelle]

There was an article by Elayne Clift in our "Opinions/Perspectives" section of my local newspaper's weekend edition (The Rutland Herald, April 9-11, 2022 edition). This is a VERY small, local newspaper, which none-the-less has won several Pulitzers in its long history (established in 1794). Anyway, Clift's article reflected for me the strong tradition that mail art affords for resistance against political injustices and championing for progressive social justice. And I thought that other IUMOA members would appreciate being able to read the wisdom of Elayne's commentary...

(There is a paywall for The Herald's website, so the article is reproduced as a JPEG below. If anyone has difficulty with the text, please message me and I will try to forward or mail you the article directly.)

I'd also like to say, that I am sure there are plenty of Mail artists membered on this site who are here solely to share and exchange art as "therapy" against the harsh and hard realities of the world, to whom I empathize. There are terrible things happening in the world, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by them. Art can be a wonderful salve to temper the grotesqueries that are forced upon us by the evening news and other social media.

BUT...I also think it's important to understand the history of how art can influence public opinion, reveal truths against the brainwashing that now seems to commonly occur from despots and dictators and plutocrat politicians. Mail art has a *rich* history of calling out social injustice and mocking tyranny. Artists make a difference in world affairs. Artistic tropes of resistance undermine autocratic dissembling. Take pride in artistic resistance and know that it is a privilege to be able to participate in the discussion that difficult resistance art can inspire. It's a way to express your unique voice and perspective towards justice and towards good, and it should be something to be celebrated and honored.

Blessings to all...

[Bradford]

Lucky you, Thom.  I've only seen images in magazines and books.  I can't imagine how impressive it would be to see his works in the raw.

[Thom Courcelle]

I first encountered Nerdrum at an exposition at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle in 1997 (my favorite museum in that city). It is impossible not to be impressed with Nerdrum’s figurative work, but selectively, some of his pieces and landscapes could easily give me nightmares. His works varied greatly in size, but most major pieces were HUGE—like full wall size. And just very astonishing for the amount of his output as well as vision. 

Here’s a link to the piece that the Frye Museum purchased in conjunction with the exhibition (and is now in their permanent collection): https://collection.fryemuseum.org/objects-1/info/966?sort=0

I also made an effort the next year to view some of his work at a private gallery in New York while visiting…it was a block or two down from St Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue, and was quite an experience…had to obtain a visitor pass to gain access to the building and go through several security doors to get to the company’s “gallery.”  But worth it.

[Bradford]

Odd Nerdrum is a name seldom-encountered in the Mail Art realm.  Years ago when my art teacher/friend from my high school days needed surgery, he asked that I stay at his apartment when he came home from the hospital so that he didn't "wander off into the dark of night".  As a thank you for my assistance in the week after his recovery, he offered to buy me a book from an Art catalog.  After much perusal, I picked a large, thick (so that it bore the weight of analysis as well as reproduced paintings and not merely a "coffee table" book) volume devoted solely to the art and comments of Odd Nerdrum.  His paintings are so heavily worked, much like early Ray Johnson collages.  They are at once classic in execution and surreal in composition/subject matter.

[Thom Courcelle]

Ilya—I once read a slim book On Kitsch by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Odd Nerdrum, but I consider him to be primarily a surrealist. So I think kitsch can be very subjective and applied to many different genres!

[Ilya Semenenko-Basin]

After reading the artist RichardCanard's comment, I wondered how kitschy my mail-art is. Perhaps I'm not kitsch-oriented enough, and I'm more into the philosophy of the avant-garde, Kandinsky and Malevich. Something to think about! However, the shadow of the invisible critic reminds us from the unseen stage that what I have said is not really on the subject of the initial theme.

[Thom Courcelle]

Nancy—  I couldn't have said anything more eloquent if I had spent 10 hours trying to draft what you just wrote.  Thanks for those beautiful words, which all ring so very, very true. (❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ = "5-heart review")

[Thom Courcelle]

Dear and loveable Richard,  Thank you for your expert advice on MailArt. (I know you are well and famously "versed" in its medium and propagation...and I am ever so timid about making any montage faux-pas!!)  Just so I know your preferences for any future correspondence(s) sent your way, are these stickers appropriately "kitschy" enough for your tastes?? I will make certain to save them just for you if so...  Yours sweetly inno-scent and perfidly simple as they come, Monsieur T.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Thom, there is so much truth and nourishment in all you've written here, and the commenters too. Thank you for bringing an extra dose of the reality of sorrow to the humor + magic of mail art. This war affects all my art these days, even when not spelled out. The knock at the door is what I call it this week. Next week, who knows. Everyone's style of expressing this is unique and meaningful, I think, but the day-to-day powerlessness when it comes to actually stopping the atrocity and lies of it all is very very hard to endure.     

[Richard Canard]

11.04.22 Dare  Mister Thom Courcelle, ... what is this?  Mail art reduced to reading a newspaper article??? (I, for one have been watching television for decades.) Are you suggesting that mail artists can be thinking artists as well??? Mail art in it's sweet innocence  & purity is simply  images of rubber duckies & "smiley face"stickers....& that's  what the real world understands & expects.....& as mail artists we should be adding still yet another layer & another of bland empty kitsch ad infinitum. SinCelery, Richard Canard

[Thom Courcelle]

I'm so glad to see you in and around the IUOMA site, Ilya!  I think that you must have a very unique and interesting perspective on current events right now. There is much reporting here about how Russia is restricting of media and news—leaving only state media available in your country—affecting citizen opinion there.  I know it is hard to trust news almost anywhere these days (even in the U.S.). But this is why international correspondence, travel, and extending oneself/exploring outside of one's own culture becomes all the more important now in order to understand the complexities and perspectives of fellow human beings. (IUOMA is a wonderful medium for this!)