A Questionnaire
About the Anthrax Scare

(For Mail Artists)

by Mark Bloch
 
I have been involved since 1977 with an international network or "movement" called "mail art." It is also known as post-art, postal art, Arte Postale, or correspondence art. Strange and not-so-strange but always heartfelt items are sent from artist to artist via the international postal system. Ed Plunkett, the man who, in 1968, named the network's most influential subgroup, the New York Correspondence School, once said that the activity began when Cleopatra had herself wrapped in a rug and delivered to Caesar.

Mark Bloch, dot matrx printer, computer-generated sticker, 1983

 

 

Nevertheless, for over fifty years, envelopes, packages, postcards, found objects, printed books and self-published magazines have crisscrossed the globe freely in the name of "mail art." Clever and curious rubber stamps heralding fictitious bureaucracies that mock the "real" world and handmade postage stamps honoring the amazing and the absurd adorn these mailings, supplementing conventional postal accouterments, sometimes to the dismay, but often to the delight, of the U.S. Postal authorities who gladly deliver anything that contains adequate postage and and a readable address. Return addresses parody the worlds of art or business or government, but the street addresses are always legitimate. Envelopes may be beautiful or unconventional but they almost always contain sufficient postage. This activity has been practiced for decades, in dozens of countries, by artists circumventing or "sending up" (pun intended) the traditional gallery system, as well as by school children and housewives that hear of "the network," as it is known, via word-of-mouth or in do-it-yourself zines that are part of the oeuvre.
 
So all was well in the idyllic world of mail art ... that is, until September 11, 2001. Suddenly the concept of a self-styled "network" had a different meaning. The term "Al Queda," in fact, was originally just a list, a roster, a virtual "network" of like-minded individuals around the world that some disgruntled rich kid with an anger problem had scratched on a few pieces of paper in a cave somewhere. He didn't even have a mailbox nor did many on the list. A transient bunch, it would appear, perhaps hard to pin down. But now we know that bloodthirsty terrorists comprise that network. And the more they are pursued, the more "real" and less virtual that network becomes. Today that original list has become a synonym for death and destruction. Meanwhile mail artists, who tend to believe in using international communication as a tool of peace, a model for cooperation and sharing across state borders, have been aware of the power of such international networks for decades and have written extensively about it. But two months ago Al Queda gave networks a bad name. Strike one.
 
Then comes the use of anthrax as a tool of terror. Now someone was hitting us mail artists where we live. For decades we've been downright fetishistic about the mail. We love envelopes, postcards, postmarks, stamps, and mailing paraphernalia of all kinds. The postman is our friend. "The mailbox is a museum" is a popular mail art credo. Overnight, the international postal system became an institution that illicits fear.
 
I haven't done much snail mail in recent years. I've been using e-mail and the World Wide Web to make art. But I still have a softness in my heart for the post. A trip to my PO Box still brings me great joy as well as a fair quantity of zines, amusing stickers and drawings, even now. Prior to September 11 I was thinking of creating some mailings once again. I considered a return to mail art by sending ex-correspondents around the globe little packages that show what I have been up to in recent months. But suddenly that seems like a patently bad idea. I contemplated sending art collectors mail art about my activities to see if I could gather a few benefactors. Nope, I won't be trying that now. Even sending out examples of my sporadic forays into journalism to major news organizations seems like a questionable act now. So where does that leave us? Not just mail artists, but all of us? We are so used to using the mail freely. After all, there's a red white and blue mail box on every other corner. Those of us that are not living in caves have the stuff delivered right to our home on a daily basis. Just what does this mean for us and the future of my favorite bureaucracy?
 
Exploiting the current situation would be easy for a mail artist. When I began this activity some 24 years ago, I chose the name PAN because it stood for Postal Art Network. Ironically, I came up with an idea ten years ago or so about a new word one could use to denote "art given as a gift." We have no such word in the English language with so much attention paid to "art for money." I decided a new word would help clarify things. I chose "thax", as in " to give thax." There was no such word and it sounded high tech and new. Well it is only natural that recently the thought crossed my mind that I could make a big rubber stamp that said "PANTHAX" and stamp it on my mail. But that would just be stupid. Stamping anything on one's mail about now is just going to create confusion and therefore make trouble, something we've got enough of right now. I am not interested in such things. A friend of mine used to baffle me with a simple mail art gesture. He knew I loved mail art so he used to write on the outside of his plain envelopes "Plain White Envelope Trick." Clever then. But now, there'd be no end to the havoc it might cause. I even hesitate to write about such things.
 
But I do because I want to point out the extent to which the recent activities have cramped the style of mail artists worldwide. Not just here but in other countries. So I decided to send out a little questionnaire for mail artists, just to find out what WAS going on elsewhere. Were my friends in the network feeling as I am? What follows is the e-mail I sent out to hundreds of mail artists and a few of the replies I got back within three days.
 
E-mail is indeed faster and, for the moment, safer. But it lacks a certain something when it comes to collage and and postmarks and little guys in shorts that deliver to your house. No one ever said "The In-Box is a Museum." Well maybe a spam museum. But spam sounds good compared to anthrax, now doesn't it?  

Mark Bloch
The Panman
PO Box 1500
New York, NY
10009

markb@echonyc.com
 
PS A word about the this document: The full text immediately below is the text of the e-mail that I sent out. I have highlighted the questions I asked, especially 1-6 because they were the most relevant. Please note that in the answers that follow I have included abridged versions of these questions to save space. But I wanted to include something to provide context. Not all the artists chose to answer all the questions.
 


The Questions:



PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE THIS OR IF YOU HAVE INADVERTENTLY RECEIVED MULTIPLE COPIES A questionnaire for snail mail artists Deadline: NOW Please answer ASAP and return via e-mail to markb@echonyc.com Please forward to other mail artists. Answers will be posted online at http://www.echonyc.com/~panman

1) in general, how have your mailing activities been affected by the recent events including destruction of the world trade center, etc. but in particular the spread of anthrax via the postal service?

2) are you sending less mail? to destinations within the USA? to outside the USA?

3) are you receiving less mail? from within the USA? from outside the USA?

4) to what extent has e-mail played a part in replacing or supplementing your snail mail activities?

5) how has the nature of the CONTENT of your mail changed- either sent or received?

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?

7) any other information you wish to include

8) about you:
name/how long have you been involved in mail art?/email address/snail mail address/phone number (phone numbers will not be posted online) (please indicate any other information you do not want posted)

Thanks Mark Bloch aka Panman
 

The Answers:


Anna Banana
Vittore Baroni
John Bennett
DNA Wo Man Ray
FaGaGaGa
Dragonfly Dream
kiyotei

Eleanor Kent
ex posto facto
jacqui Salter-Disler
Jas W Felter
Juan Guerrero
honoria
Richard Kostelanetz

Jean Kusina
Leigh McCartney
Tim Mancusi
J. Massa
Mike James
mark pawson
Pawel Petasz

Carlo Pittore
Reed Altemus
State of Being
Reg (R.F. Côté)
Rod Summers / VEC
Ruud Janssen
Umbrella


Anna Banana
how long in mail art? early 70's
a_banana@sunshine.net
RR22, 3747 Hwy. 101
Roberts Creek, BC,
Canada V0N 2W2

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 10:44 PM


Has the anthrax thing effected you at all?
Yes, mail is much slower . . . Item mailed in Oberlin on Oct. 22 didn't get here until Nov. 5.
An express mail envelope, mailed (with 3 day guaranteed delivery) Tues. Oct. 28, still isn't here . . . and mail has been and gone for today . . . that's Tues. Nov. 6.
 

And of course there's all the worries about white powders. . . . but I haven't been affected by any of that . . . just hope some joker in the network doesn't start putting flour in their mail . . .
 
. . .I figure anyone stupid enough to push their luck with the feds, and to make a jokey stamp about anthrax, has what's coming . . .

over and out


anna
Please check our current website for more detailed information on goods and services available: http://users.uniserve.ca/~sn0958
 
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Vittore Baroni
Italy
how long in mail art?  25 years

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 9:37 AM

 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Well, we all got a bit depressed after that, ain't we? Our big dream of artists who will live forever through their works shattered by apocalyptic scenarios of a spiralling global war... Yes, I slowed down sensibly not only my mail art activity but also other forms of creative work: staying close to my son and wife and spending more time with them seems more important right now than planning networking art schemes. It's the big boys in the top seats who decide how the world will end, not limp wristed artists types, so I'll sit back and nervously watch the show. How many civil deads today? For all the bad this war is doing, at least it suceeded in opening better our eyes.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I have not stopped, I still mail out some top priority stuff almost every
day, but I send less "unnecessary" mail everywhere, particularly the USA
because I think the anthrax situation also makes the Postal System less reliable from there to here and viceversa (a book I ordered from California and was air mailed over one month ago just disappeared), and who wants to spend money on postage for mailing that disappear in black holes? I also think the postal workers in terrorist panic can be helped by giving less work to them, particularly suspiciously weird pieces of correspondence like mail art. I'm sure I'll resume my normal postal rhythms as soon as the anthrax emergence is hopefully over. Luckily, I had no big mail projects or plans in store for the forthcoming months, I had planned a break anyway, to concentrate on my writings.

3) are you receiving less mail?
I still get some pieces of mail every day, so yes I receive less mail, mostly from the States, but I'd say in the range of 30% less in general, 70% less from the States, so I still get a lot.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
It helped on a personal level particularly with close friends and correspondents from overseas (air mail being very expensive), but e-mail did not diminish my snail mail output, it was mostly just an extra on top of it.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
I haven't noticed definite changes in content in what I get, I still get very arty envelopes full of artistamps etc. My postman is well used to it. I try to send out envelopes and packages that do not look too weird, but I still put a couple of rubberstamps or artistamps on them, so it's not much different from what I send our usually.


6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
A tragic and terrible terrorist act followed by a tragic and terrible war that will solve no problem, only create more. Action should have been taken (starting long ago!) agains terrorist organizations, but not in this clumpsy and ineffective way.

(please indicate any other information you do not want posted)
the name is enough, if somebody really want to reach me, they can find my address and e-mail easily through search engines, I already receive daily too much trash e-mail to encourage more by having my e-mail address posted in web sites, I don't trust Bill Gates and his ilk.
 

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John M. Bennett
Doing mail art since about 1974
bennett.23@osu.edu
Luna Bisonte Prods
137 Leland Ave.
Columbus, OH 43214 USA

Date:Thursday, November 8, 2001 12:13 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
I've found myself washing my hands after handling mail, being somewhat more cautious about what I put on the outsides of envelopes, and pausing a moment before opening anything I don't immediately recognize.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA? 3) are you receiving less mail?
2 & 3) I have been receiving considerably less mail both from within the US and from outside. This means that the amount of mail I send has also decreased.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
It hasn't substituted so much as it has supplemented my mail - querying people if they've received something or not, letting someone know I've mailed them something (or have received something), etc.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
I no longer even THINK about putting foot powder in my mailings... Terrorism as a subject has of course become a topic in mail I send and in mail I receive.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
It's all quite horrifying, but shouldn't be a surprise that it's happened. It's been predicted for some time now.

7) any other information you wish to include:

be blank.

Doing mail art since about 1974. Unless you count the missives I threw overboard in the Pacific ocean back in 1951.



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FaGaGaGa
aka Mark & Mel
mail artists since 1982
corroto@earthlink.net
155 N. Washington St
Delaware, Ohio 43015-1609 USA

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 12:22 PM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax? 2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
My mail activities have actually increased after this anthrax scare. I believe we have to increase the MAIL ART in responce.

3) are you receiving less mail?
I have found that i am receiving LESS mail from all my contacts. I do not know the reason, but speculate most mail artists mail when happy, as opposed to some (like me) that use the NETWORK for social  protest and comment on world issues.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
email (HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT) has replaced communications I would make by phone to network friends. It has neither replaced, nor supplemented my mail art.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
I have always been a POST CARD mail artist, so nothing has changed. I choose PCs because the postage rates favored this approach. In today's climate, post cards are easy and SAFE.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Somebody told me that war is God's way of teaching Americans about geography and other cultures. While I certainly condemn the events of 9-11-01, I wonder if the Arabs actually need another Burger King and blockbuster video in their towns. Fundementalist religions twist the words of Allah and  Jesus just as much as capitolist twist govenrmental policy to do bad things. When your religion butts heads with consumerism - we gotta brawl.



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DNA WO MAN RAY
how long in mail art? late 70's
810 O'Leary Rd. N.W.
Olympia, WA 98502


Date: Thursday, November 8, 2001 4:25 PM


1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
3) are you receiving less mail?
4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?

7) any other information you wish to include:

Hi Mark,

After many years living in rural settings and far away from a huge network of my dearest friends, I hold postal art in sacred esteem. I would much rather receive a beautiful piece of art through the mail rarely, than the incessant e-mail blurbs or manifestos that blur and curse my screen, leaving quite a bit to be desired. Living a simple yet artful livelihood,I continue in the network in a pretty selective way, but non the less intensly.Every piece of mail going out is Art if you infuse it with creative intent, spirit and colour !

I was also mentioned "Woman Ray" in an article in a recent Utne Reader (Oct 2000) entitled " Going Postal"about Mail Art. That was a thrill to see my postal art name in print and know that I was able to help along a fellow artist to make connections into the family network of mail artists all over the world. The "Plain white envelope trick", sent by my partner in crime, is quite funny and shows how the mail art bug has been contagious to all who I have been near and dear to over these past 24 years and beyond.......I have always sent colourful, artful packages and posts, since I was very young, and always had a stamp collection which has now grown in dimension to rubber stamps and accouterments of the mail art trade......

As for the Anthrax Scare. I personally have been moved to send MORE Mail Art if only to brighten up the faces of postal workers around the globe. They are aware of us and we have been lightening their load for many moons already. I always have great communications in the post office, while asking for more hand stamps or postal garb along the way to incorporate into my collage of stickers, drawings and stamps. I believe that their job is at high risk from mail tamperers and terrorists, not kind hands colouring and stamping their thoughts for PEACE, reaching out for networks of people wanting to play and communicate Art through the mail. However, I agree that we must be careful and conscientious and let the postal service know through our actions that we are on their side and do not want our freedoms lessened by this terrible string of events. Keep Posting for Peace, Namaste', DNA


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Dragonfly Dream
how long in mail art? on and off since the mid-1980's, but steadly since 1994
PMB#286, 223 N.Guadalupe
Santa Fe,New Mexico 87501 USA

 

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 12:43 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
I have slowed down alittle, but mostly it's because I have been very busy since completing my cancer treatments. Life is precious and time is very valuable. I am doing more postcards and no teasing/testing the post office. They have more than enough on thier plates with the anthrax scares without me adding to thier fears.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
Yes, but again only because of time.

3) are you receiving less mail?
Yes, this I have noticed, there is definatly a slow down, especially from outside the USA.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
None, I email all the time, that has not changed.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
I'd say that the content might be a wee bit more personal these days. I am also doing more postcards and less envelopes stuffed with goodies...

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
It sucks.....the events on 9/11 have devistated the country and yet it also has brought us together, stronger. I am very unpolical but since then I have been watching the world events alittle more closely. I was in NYC soon after the evnt and had to go down to ground zero to see. I grew up in NYC and it was so very sad to see the whole in the sky. The site was still burning and smoke filled the air, sadness hung heavily in my heart. I snapped a few photos and cried.

7) any other information you wish to include:
I fear the postal system will start seriously limiting what we can send. Our postal freedoms will be curtailed I'm sure.

 
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Eleanor Kent
how long in mail art? Since about 1976.
ekent@well.com
544 Hill St.
San Francisco, CA 94114

 

Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 4:19 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Haven't been very active sending mail art recently, but I did muse on some projects because of the events: like stamps that say "This letter does NOT contain anthrax", but decided it wasn't very funny after all. Also did wonder how other mail artists were reacting.  Angry and sad that such a peaceful activity as sending art through the mail has been so corrupted. Gives a new meaning to "poison pen letters."

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
Not particularly.

3) are you receiving less mail?
Haven't been very active with mail art recently because this I was coordinating a fabulous tech art show of 80 people for  Ylem: Artists Using Science and Technology  this September in San Francisco.  Had been receiving art from people all summer for September 4th opening and then returning it by UPS and Fed Ex and US Post Office after September 23. Did a lot of emailing and mailing in connection with the show before the anthrax stuff.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
Well, I do a lot of emailing anyway.  Am doing a lot now because of arranging for the online catalog of the show. (Only 4 people out of 80 artists do not have email).


5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
Maybe I am crosser about getting the stupid email petitions that are outdated, but am also glad to get the funny forwards that cheer me. Humor helps.  Nice to get thoughtful forwards. Interesting to hear other people vent, and get a sense of how others are reacting.

Also I have thought about the wisdom of sending the little hats I knit for people by snailmail. I usually write   "hat hat hat hat"   and "Okay to hurl this package" all over the big envelopes, but I wonder if that would be considered suspect. And I would hate to send a toy to a child with anthrax spores on it because it went by a contaminated machine. Sigh.  How mean to have kind impulses throttled!


6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Why don't people use technology to make wonderful things instead of killing or maiming each other?  There are such beautiful tools for communicating, creating and getting along! I am angry and sad that people are so divided that they cannot reason with each other despite all the tools available.

7) any other information you wish to include:
My webpage http://www.ylem.org/artists/ekent/index.htm

AND  webpage of Ylem:


Ylem: Artists Using Science and Technology
http://www.ylem.org

how long in mail art?     SINCE about 1976. Before that I just sent funny things through the mail. Glad to find such great and generous people in mail art.

 
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Jas W Felter
how long in mail art?  Since 1970
jfelter@direct.ca
2707 Rosebery Avenue,

West Vancouver, BC, V7V 3A3, CANADA

(please indicate any other information you do not want posted)
I don't want any of this information POSTED, except for the information 'about me'.
If I had realized you were going to 'post' this, I wouldn't have bothered to complete it.
I thought you were just collecting information for a survey (no names revealed)... or whatever.


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honoria
how long in mail art? since 1989
honoria@mail.utexas.edu
2505 enfield road #15
Austin, TX 78703

 

Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 3:24 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
I am concerned that my mail be completely non-threatening.  I send only
post
cards and if I have to send an envelope I use vellum envelopes that are
translucent -- the contents are visible from the outside.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I'm sending about the same.  My sending depends on receiving.  About 5 mail art
projects a week and maybe the same number of mailing relating to mail art
research asking for permission to publish, clarification of interviews, or
sending away for international books.

3) are you receiving less mail?
It seems the same - my volume is pretty low anyway, for a mail artist that is.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
Do you mean since 9-11?
I use both forms of communication in the same way.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
I try to send messages of a creative peaceful nature,  pro-creativity and
pro-respect.  I have sent and recycled mail art that directly responds to
terrorism such as David Alvey's 21 card salute that I put another layer on and
sent to Canada. The mail art network has been subversive in the past but now I
think we must examine what we are FOR what we represent which is innovation,
interaction, world interconnections, and emphasis on multi cultural exchange
and respect. We should do everything to support the mail system that we depend
on.  Mail artists should be careful to mail responsibly and consider the effect
each piece of mail may have on already stressed systems.

I've participated in online discussions on electronic message boards discussing
issues related to mail art and anthrax.  One example was someone made an 100%
anthrax free stamp and sent it to a town in France where it caused a
disturbance due to the fact that several people didn't know English words.
Reine Shad suggested a new mail art school "the mail art school for respect and
peace."  I felt that the new school gave the right message from mail artists so
I had a rubberstamp and some stickers made with that message to distribute
through my routine sendings.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?


I am sad that terrorists have chosen the postal system to deliver anthrax death
spores.  Many innocent people are hurt and affraid due to this basic means of
dissemination that enters into their/our daily routine.  The distribution of
death through the mails is an effective terrorist strategy. Because mail
artists have been an undetected, under the radar network for many years mail
artists might have creative insights into terrorists' use of the mails that we
may not even recognize ourselves. We should think about how the terrorists
might be thinking in order to add to the body of knowledge of mail
distribution. The forensic experts and the employees who work for the post
office also have a lot of expertise in what goes through the mails, who is on
the routes, what is normal and what is not.  I hope the investigators can pull
that information together to locate the source of the anthrax mail, capture the
terrorists and stop the use of the mail for distructive purposes.  I am sad we
are at war. I am sad that there is so much hate in the world and that people
feel they have kill each other to prove philosophical differences.

 

7) any other information you wish to include:
Where are you going to post this collection? I am very interested to see the
results!
You might want to post this on www.crosses.net - there are a fair number of
mail artists posting there.

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jacqui Salter-Disler
how long in mail art? early 80's with lapses jaquijade@yahoo.com
Jacqui Disler
1078 Bothwell
Bolingbrook, Il. 60440


Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 6:52 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
1. no change

 

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
 2. yes   no
 

3) are you receiving less mail?
3. na
 

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
4. not enough

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
5. more postcards

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
 6. Horrendous


 
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Mail art names include, but are not limited to:
ex posto facto, Anne Maybe, Dr. Victoria
Fluxbuxenstein
how long in mail art? 1991
parrthed8@yahoo.com
p.o.box 495522
garland, tx  75049

 
From: JJ <parrthed8@yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 9:39 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
They haven't been affected, but I do wonder if my odd
mail worries the people that handle it.

 

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
about the same
 

3) are you receiving less mail?
about the same--maybe a little MORE from outside the
US

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
In general or since 9/11?  In general it has been
helpful as a networking tool--especially as I began my
mail art activity in the early '90's.  Now, not so
much.
 

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
I had a stamp made that says IN BIG LETTERS "odd but
harmless" that I've been using since 9/11
 

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Tragic.  No reason to add to anyone's anxiety...
 

7) any other information you wish to include:
I like chocolate

=====
"Life is like licking honey off a thorn."  --Louis Adamic
 
 
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Juan Guerrero
A mail artist from Mexico
2ojos@ozu.es

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 1:07 AM


DEAR MARK,

About your questions, yes, personally I am receiving less
mail art in my box. Of course now and for a while, snail
mail is becoming slower than the normal (mexican postal
service is usually slow), but I think that on the long way
(hope nos so long) thins have to become "normal".
Also, some projects that before were posible (like sending
soda cans and other extrange packages) are not possible for
the moment, but I hope that also these events will bring a
big development in technology in the post offices to
distinguish between an artist project and the terrorist acts
via mail.
For the moment, I dont atempt to send anything out to the
normal to USA by mail, but less see... at the end, I'm sure
this is not the end of mail art.

Best wishes,

Juan Guerrero, a mail artist from Mexico.

----------------------------------
Correo enviado desde http://ozu.es
No dejes tus ahorros en cualquier sitio:
http://ingdirect.ozu.es
----------------------------------

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Richard Kostelanetz
P.O. Box 444, Prince St.
New York, NY 10012-0008
rkostelanetz@bigfoot.com


From: Rkosti@aol.com
To: <markb@echonyc.com>
Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 2:01 PM

In a message dated 11/5/01 12:44:09 PM, markb@echonyc.com writes:
to what extent has email played a part in replacing or supplementing your
snail mail activities?


this, Mark, is the most interesting question, if only because it's easy to
send graphic images, saving snail mail for 3-D objects, I would guess. I look
forward to seeing your results.

website: www.richardkostelanetz.com
 
 
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Jean Kusina
how long in mail art?  5-6 years, most actively the last 3
einstein629@yahoo.com
810 Clinton St.
Fremont, OH 43420

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 4:42 AM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
The attack on the World Trade Center left me, like
everyone, stunned and mortified.  For a brief period I
was unable to send mail art.  What would I say? My
main concern was for my friends in New York-- all of
whom were, thankfully, safe.  I had been travelling
during this time and returned home to be greeted by a
large and welcoming pile of cards and letters.  It
snapped me back into mail art mode, and I was ready to
return to business.  It seemed important to exchange
with other artists. 

The anthrax threat has affected my mind more than my
mailing.  It saddens me that someone would turn
something that has brought joy to so many into a
weapon, something to be feared. Yet at the same time,
it makes me want to send more mail art.  I often think
of the Dadaists in these bewildering days, and I came
across a quote from Jean Arp: "Repelled by the
slaughterhouses of the world war we turned to art. We
searched for an elementary art that would save mankind
from the furious madness of these times."

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
Actually, I am sending more mail, although it seems to
be of a more personal nature instead of to official
mail art calls.  Most of my mail has been within the
United States, essentially because there seems to be
increased activity of everyone trying to pull together
and lift each other‚s spirits.  I am starting to
branch out and send more international mail because I
am finally at a place where I have caught up with
those I felt needed the most urgent responses and most
of those were here in America.

3) are you receiving less mail?
It seems that I am receiving slightly more mail than
usual, most of it from the U.S.  A fair amount of mail
has come from individuals that I have never
corresponded with before. People seem to want to
connect with each other.  Also, I find myself getting
re-connected with some mail artists that I had not
corresponded with in a while.  My international mail
seems about the same, and I have received several
letters of support and shared grief for all that is
going on.  Words from overseas that say, "We are with
you" mean a great deal-- not a political way, but in
a significantly more human sense.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
Judging by the dates on the cancellations all of the
mail, both foreign and domestic, is moving more slowly
now.  E mail works best for information that needs to
be shared quickly.  It was indispensable to me during
the September 11th tragedy, since I was on the road in
Mexico and Texas and had no other way to communicate
with friends and loved ones than those now
unforgettable "Are you OK?" e mails.  I certainly
would not want it to replace snail mail, but at the
same time I am glad it is there.


5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
I am really trying not to let the current situation
influence my mailing too much. I am still sending odd
envelopes and such, but at the same time I am trying
to respect the postal workers and not make their lives
any more difficult.   I have put a couple of my
rubberstamps into semi-retirement, one that read
"CAUTION: Handle Only If Wearing Proper Protection"
and another that said, "Toxic Yet Tasty".  Previously,
these had always passed unnoticed or at least without
fear.  As luck would have it, the day the anthrax
story broke wide open, I had just been to the post
office mailing a bundle of unusual items.  One was
hand sewn with estimated postage, another was in a
clear plastic canister˜basically a laundry list of
everything the post office would be listing on
television as things to watch out for.  I still have
no idea if they all made it or what havoc they may
have caused.  Those types of things I have eased off
on sending.  Even still, my theory is that if there
are letters to be concerned about they are likely the
most innocuous looking ones--plain white,
handwritten--not ones with drawings and stamps designed
to bring attention to themselves.


6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Total disbelief.


7) any other information you wish to include:
Every day I still look forward to the mail.

Hi Mark-- Always good hearing from you.  Here are a
few thoughts I jotted down for your survey-- I hope
they are useful to you.  Your writings on the tragedy
touched me greatly.  I still can't imagine NY without
the Towers, much less comprehend the fates of those
inside, and the ones who are left. 

Yeah, the anthrax thing is a drag, but we mail on--

Love, Jean
 
 
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kiyotei (demidog)
how long in mail art? 2 years
kiyotei@beer.com
p.o. box 2786
carlsbad, ca. 92018

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 4:20 PM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Not at all. there are too many other things to worry about, like cancer, car accidents, or being struck by lightning. I was affected enough by the event to make art that day and mail it postmarked September 11th! The art has since been published in Wired. (Click for link)

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
to destinations within the USA? to outside the USA? Have not changed my destinations. My mailings did decrease a bit right after the attacks, because I was spending way too much time in front of the boob tube.

3) are you receiving less mail?

My mail has decreased since the attack - but this week seems to be picking up a bit. I suspect the same reasons as my own personal slow-down in creations.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
None, my emails are always more frequent than snail mailings

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
I am sending more postcards because letter mail is being delayed. I know this because I have sent both a postcard and letter mail to the same person (on the same day) in Canada and she told me that she got the postcard but not the letter yet.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Sucks big time. Peace is a lovely hope - but human nature is in direct conflict with this ideal.
 

7) any other information you wish to include:
Have a Great Day.

P.S. I love your page. Gotta get around to adding to my mailart resources page: http://www.art.net/~kiyotei/mailmarks.html
Kiyotei's Den http://www.art.net/~kiyotei



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Leigh McCartney
pattyhitler19@hotmail.com
how long in mail art? 1 yr 2 mo
snail mail address: I don't have one
 

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 4:03 PM

 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
I am afraid of sending mail art to strangers and I won't send mail art  for
sometime to them.  I don't know how they will react.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I am not sending any at the moment.

3) are you receiving less mail?
I am getting none. 4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
Email has made me feel warm and fuzzy.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
Nothing has really changed, humor will always exist in my art and it is my
immortal formula.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I am sad and afraid for Americans, our lives will never be the same.  I am
remorseful for the innocent victims, it is so unfair.
 

7) any other information you wish to include:
I am a photo and video art student

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Tim Mancusi
San Francisco
timdada@earthlink.net

Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 11:15 PM

Mark,

Actually, I kind of stopped answering my mailart over a year ago
because I was overwhelmed. I know... not a really good excuse but
for years I was so on it. I answered everything with a quality, hand-crafted
reply. I still answer select pieces of mail but (more lame excuses) these days
I spend a lot of time answering email. (And I'm a 2 finger typist.)
At any rate, I had entertained sending out some massive fake Anne Thracks
type mailings but, maybe because I'm getting old, I've decided I don't need the
publicity a jail sentence would bring. I've actually OD-ed on all the "9-11"

news and after some angry response to my recent  9-11 observations have
found more solace in my garden. Especially the poppies.

:->     Tim

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Mike James
LaurieMikej@aol.com
mail artist for about 12 years

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 1:47 AM
Subject: Re: Mike James has midlife change of he/art


Dear Mark-
 
I have been an off and on mail artist for about 12 years. I did a few large mail art projects but slowed down to nearly a stand still in the past few years. I was doing a great deal of trading of video, audio, and CD material with people outside the mail art community however, particularly in Europe until 9-11. I have totally stopped this activity with people in Europe. Mostly because I do not want to jamb up the mail system anymore than it already is but also because the person who delivers my mail is scared shitless to be handling the material I was receiving. I do not blame my mail person for not wanting to handle such material. If I were in their place I would not want to handle it either.

   My wife and I were in Savannah, GA when the Trade Towers and Pentagon were hit. After we returned home it took me nearly a month to come to terms with the reality of the situation. It made me reevaluate a lifetime of political thought and personal philosophy. I had always thought of myself as being liberal - a politically active liberal in the late 60's and early 70's. Less active and a bit more conservative as I grew older but still voting a Democratic ticket with occasional forays into liberal third parties.   
                             
   But as I have surveyed the situation that America now finds itself in and compared, as best I can, past historical situations, I find that I am really not a true liberal at all. I realize that I have been naively mistaken about many things in the past, particularly the importance of cultural identity within a capitalist framework and the limits of freedom.


   I believe the current situation to be an inevitable clash of civilizations. Wars of this kind have been fought for centuries. Americans will never again experience the freedom they once had but I do want my country and my culture- as shallow and vapid as it might be- to survive. I feel a world war of some type is inevitable and I hope the US wins it.

   So yes, the murder of nearly five thousand people has affected me and my relation with the mail quite a bit.

PS- Mark-I was hoping that you survived the attack. Good luck in NY. You are going to need it in the months ahead.

Best, Mike James

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mark pawson
mark@mpawson.demon.co.uk
how long in mail art? 17 yrs

Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 11:20 PM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
no effect

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
same as always

3) are you receiving less mail?
same as always

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
I tend to use e-mail for more buisness/work-related matters--the instantness is
hard to beat!

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
no change--I've been busy with 2 projects that were in the pipeline long before
sept 11 and  neither has been changed or adapted in any way.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I'm glad it wasn't me, I'm glad it wasn't anybody I know, I'm glad that all my
friends in NY are OK, I have looked again at my holiday photos of NY from
September 2000.


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Pawel Petasz
how long in mail art? since 1974
petasz@softel.elblag.pl
Chopina 6,
82-300 Elblag
Poland


Date: Thursday, November 8, 2001 5:18 PM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
the Poczta Polska was already extremely unfriendly and arrogant. Little more can be provided. Rise of postage perhaps.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
no

3) are you receiving less mail?
no

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
replaced letters

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
less creative envelopes

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
shit happens


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Carlo Pittore
216 Post Rd
Bowdoinham, ME 04008
pittore@gwi.net
 
Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 10:24 PM

I  feel Mark Blockish and can't answer your questions as asked, because I
don't think like that, and it wouldn't be fun.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I've not changed my mailing habits.

3) are you receiving less mail?
I am not receiving less mail; perhaps even more. Also from abroad.

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J. Massa
how long in mail art?:  18 years
J.Massa@wanadoo.fr
 
From: J.Massa @wanadoo.fr <J.Massa@wanadoo.fr>
To: Mark Bloch <markb@echonyc.com>
Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 7:02 AM
 
 
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
3) are you receiving less mail?
5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
answers to 1/2/3/5
I am kind of (re)tired from Mail-Art, so I didn't write that much
before the recent events anyway.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
it helps to keep contact when you're tired of sending mail...


6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
about the towers etc... it continues to be absolute sci-fi for me. I
don't arrive to believe that possible

about the anthrax I feel very concerned by those postmen. In France,
generally, postmen are very kind people. Their work is so important to link
people, especially old people, etc. I feel about the same way for postmen &
firemen...

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Reed Altemus
how long in mail art? 11yrs
raltemus@earthlink.net
POB 52 Portland,ME 04112

Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 3:17 PM

 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Really, there hasn't been any effect on my mailings, although I know it has effected other mail artists mailings.
I think some are waiting for the anthrax scare to calm down before they get back into it full swing.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
No, I'm sending about the same- same to outside the US also...

3) are you receiving less mail?
Well, I was quite suprised to hear Micheal Leigh comment that this is "the best time to be in the mail"
but, if you know how Michael is you know how hard core he is about snail mail- it's probably up to him
with his level of involvement to find something interesting or funny to do regarding the whole alarmist
scenario we're witnessing now. All this stuff happening now was probably happening before, it
just wasn't "newsworthy"until the WTC thing. As usual the media are playing the public's emotions
for all they can get. Scared people make obedient people.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
I actually get *a lot* less email than ever before. Back when the Internet was like the wild wild west (please excuse the cowboy metaphor, I hate cowboys) it used to be fairly interesting, but now that cyberspace has been tamed, coopted etc. I have a much greater interest in snail mail because nobody's doing it now! I'm devolving!


5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
The collaboration continues, my magazine Farrago is getting lots of submissions and it keeps me fairly busy mail-wise.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I personally feel that it was a crime against humanity and that the people who perpetrated this crime should be brought to justice in an international court. The war means innocent people will be killed which is *also* a crime against humanity. As Ghandi said "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind"

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Reid Wood (State of Being)
how long in mail art? Since 1981
reidwood@oberlin.net
271 Elm St.
Oberlin, OH 44074


Date: Monday, November 5, 2001 9:05 PM

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
am somewhat more cautious in opening mail, but it has not changed my mailing patterns yet.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I am not sending less mail, and I still have plans to send out my large mailing for New Years.

3) are you receiving less mail?
It's difficult to tell if I am receiving less mail. It seems to come to me in spurts during normal times, and it is hard to tell yet whether there will be a long term diminishing.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
It hasn't replaced my snail mail activities, and it had already supplemented those activities before 9-11.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
Not substantially. It did have an effect on some of what I sent out immediately after the events, but ultimately I think the best approach is to try to continue being who we
are.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I am still trying to get some sort of closure on them (if that is possible). I think there is some sense of everyone waiting for the next shoe to drop, but in spite of the commentary about how we will never be the same I don't think that has proven true (at least to the extent stated by the commentators). We are different, but there have been other catastrophic national events that have changed us.  Maybe those people who were jerks are less jerky now, but there are lots of people I knew before the events who were caring, who were concerned about community, who reached out to people, and they are still that way. I don't know - as I said I'm still waiting for some kind of closure. The one thing I am concerned about is the reactions of the government and what we may give up in personal freedoms in the hope of gaining personal security.

 
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Reg (R.F. Côté)
how long in mail art? Since 1994
rfcote@iquebec.com
12465 Avenue de Troyes
Québec, Qc G2A 3C9

Canada


Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 6:21 PM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Mail (large enveloppes or parcels) coming
from outside Canada took longer to arrive and were
covered with red stampings from Canada customs. For
the past 2-3 weeks, large mail items are coming in
faster.

 

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
No, as a matter of fact, I increased my
invoices. I don't know why?

3) are you receiving less mail?
No. Coming in steady.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
No change!

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent orreceived?
No change for the content but better
sealed/packed.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
Disturbing but life is gotta go on...

7) any other information you wish to include:
Sending postcards seem to be a ''safer'' way
to send mail art or any other regular mail.
Surprisingly, I did not hear comments about promoting
the sending of postcards instead of enveloppes.

check my mail art call at: 
http://www.graffiti.eboard.com


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Rod Summers / VEC
how long in mail art? since 1972
rodvec@planet.nl 
Florijnruwe 52C  -  NL-6218 CE Maastricht
The Netherlands.


Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 6:10 AM

 
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
The whole event was very depressing.  I increased my output of mail-art, both digital and analogue to compensate for the inhumanity of others. I always wear full ABC protective clothing when opening any mail from John M. Bennett. Some of my best friends are sheep but I stopped kissing those that come in envelopes.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I increased my snail mail output, email remains about the same.

3) are you receiving less mail?
No, about the same as normal, only now it comes through in lumpy batches rather than being spread throughout delivery days.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?

I view them as two very different forms of communication, both good.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
Not a lot. I'm sending out more CDs at present but that is because I have published three new CDs since August.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I am deeply saddened that humanity has sunk to such depths, there is definitely a case now for species extinction, we don't deserve to live on such a beautiful planet when we behave in such a dastardly manner.

7) any other information you wish to include:
Christians Jews and Moslems all worship the same god, The name of that god was on the lips of both the perpetrators and victims of the IX/XI atrocity. Religion is pathetic as are the people who require one.

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Ruud Janssen
how long in mail art? since 1980
r.a.cjanssen@freeler.nl
P.O. Box 10388 , 5000 JJ Tilburg
Netherlands

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 4:15 PM
 
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
I have only intensified the mail-contact with some friend in NY. Anthrax hasn't affected my mail at all.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
I have cut down on snail-mail a lot. But that has been the case for over a year already. The attack on the WTC has nothing to do with this. Contacts to USA are more influenced by the increased postal rates of a simple envelope.....

3) are you receiving less mail?
No real changes.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
Mail in general tends to go electronic. My (good) old contacts in snail mail still are there. Not everybody of our generation has e-mail. With the new generation (e.g. my students) most is done electronically.

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
The quality of snail-mail has improved. If I send something out by snail mail, it is never a quickly done piece.

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
It is a tragical event that the world realizes that there are these sick persons that have no respect for life. The world has changed.

 
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Umbrella
how long in mail art? 26 years
umbrella@ix.netcom.com
P.O. Box 3640
Santa Monica, CA 90408



Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2001 4:40 AM
 

1) how have your mailing activities been affected by recent events, i.e. anthrax?
Am too busy, so I am doing much less.

2) are you sending less mail? within the USA? outside the USA?
Less everywhere, but not because of anthrax.

3) are you receiving less mail?
No, but my business generates a lot of mail, mostly books.

4) has email played a part in replacing or supplementing snail mail?
e-mail is communication for me, not art

5) how has the CONTENT of your mail changed- sent or received?
A lot about the tragedy and touching my friends around the world about it

6) what are your personal feelings about recent events?
I've already written you about my impressions on 11 September and a bit
later.  I am still having a videotape in my head of the events, but at least
after 5 weeks of nightmares, they have finally disappeared.  I cry a lot
more when I see details on TV.

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