Mail What? Mail Your Art!Ray Johnson of the New York Correspondence School popularized mail-art more than 40 years ago, and contemporary artists, such as Yoko Ono and Christo, have used the art form to express themselves ever since.
Generally mail-art exhibits cost nothing to enter, and there are no limitations placed on techniques, materials or size. In addition, there are no juries as everyone's art is accepted and exhibited, removing the "politics" involved with many shows. It's important to note, however, that mail-art sent to such exhibits is not returned; instead, all participants are typically recognized with a poster documenting all of the collected mail-art.
Perhaps the best way to get a handle on the essence of this art form is to read about the experiences of a mail-artist. Ruud Janssen from the Netherlands has been creating and receiving mail-art for over 20 years. An artist, teacher, writer, and publisher, he has hosted several international mail-art projects and collaborated with others all over the world. The following comments from Janssen are reprinted by permission.
"The word 'MAIL-ART' is used by mail-artists to give a name to the things we do. Defining what it is all about is more difficult. Some use other words like 'Networking', 'Postal Art', 'Netland', but this doesn't make it easier to explain what it is all about. The only people who really know what mail-art is all about are the ones that practice it. I tried several times to explain to others what mail-art is all about but they never really understood it. Sure, they know that it has to do with mail and art, but there is more to mail-art than just sending out a decorated envelope to somebody else.
"Mail-art is a kind of energy that is passed on to the receiver. The sender can put his energy in a transmittable form—a mail-piece—and send it to the receiver. If the energy is on the same 'wave-length' for sender and receiver it will surely cause a reaction. Energy is transmitted back.
"The fact that there are no limits to this art form other than the materials we can use for communicating over large distances makes it that difficult. Mail-Art, Fax-Art, Email-Art, Telephone-Art, Computer-Art—just choose a name but the essence is that it has to do with COMMUNICATION. I could call it "Communication-Art", but I would rather call it "Life". It is quite a form of art to live your life in a creative way.
"Some mail-artists like to call themselves artists. The term 'artist' is always a difficult one. Galleries only call persons artists when they are selling their art. The gallery system is there to make money.
"Mail art isn't sold or bought. (At least that is/was the intention.) So if a mail-artist starts to ask for money for his mail-art or makes mail-art to sell in galleries, there is a problem. I then call him/her an artist that has to make a living out of his art. Mail-artists normally don't do that.
"They have a paid (part-time of full-time) job to pay for the postage and spend a lot of time on their mail-art. So for the gallery system the mail-artists aren't real artists. But that is the whole concept of mail art. Avoid the official art-circuit and send art to the really interested people.
"The mail-art you receive every day inspires you to create new mail-art, which inspires the person you send yours to.
"Mail-art proves that all people—wherever they live—can communicate with each other in a peaceful way. The only thing that is more fun than receiving mail-art is meeting the mail-artist.
"The mail-art network is a playing ground for the creative people who are looking for more than they can find in their own surroundings."
The Internet has greatly helped to expand the mail-art network. There are many good websites that list calls for entries, and some have interesting comments or information about the art form. An article by John Held Jr. entitled "From Moticos to Mail Art: Four Decades of Postal Networking" is located at http://www.artnetwork.com/mailart/johnheldjr.html, and Ruud Janssen's own site, TAM/IUOMA Home Page at http://www.geocities.com/Paris/4947/index.html is another excellent resource. Two more include Fan Mail in Luxembourg located at http://www.phi.lu/mailartinfo.html#deadline, and Yahoo has a listing at http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Visual_Arts/Mail_Art/.