hello, first time message from me. on another mail art site dragonfly dream said that the sending of mail art was the be and end all for her and she wasnt bothered if she got a reply or not. I wrote back and said this seemd to fly in the face of the interactive heart of what i percieve the network is about, namely getting feedback and being able to have a dialogue, be it on a one-to-one basis or with a ring of people. what say you to this?

Interaction is essential.

It mail-art is just the 'sending-out' part, than something is very wrong....

Ruud

yes life ain?t never signposted.

Mine:

lost my harddrive all adresses and datas.
nearly my life - similarely almost one of my
brothers , lost my father and my mother.
All in one year - became very ill in body and
depressed in soul for years.

remembered mailart.

hey my messageboardidea is still alive.

Started and ended big projects correctely, but - last
documentation failed - only some items online.

Most lifetime just now I need to hold my Job.
Hard Times in Germoney!

Every delay is vorgiven - if not the other one is
aggressive against the other unknown artists life and
emotions.

X-Change is the Key to X-plore and to +transpond and +o
+transgress +ide of +ime.

flux and reflux - we are fishes in the net (of FLUXUS)

talked about "non-written-rules" no-rules are given.

I watch my soul and heart.

There seems only be power to defend, not to build up again.

Merlin/Klaus Rupp
M?ggenkampstr. 1
20257 Hamburg
Germany

I hope you are recovering a joy for life after all this came down on you.
Life is fragile. Life is short. If the choice is all or nothing, I say, give it your all. I myself am trying to recover from an excess of suicidal nilihism because "the rainbow ain't enough" but learning to enjoy each day for it's beauty and it's nowness, and oddly enough, being able to create mail art as part of my expression of that unique moment called "The Now" where we all truly live is helping me past my moments of doubt. And a new relationship with God. Yes, I think there must be a God, or all is as Nietzsche says and I might as well go mad.

LOL
Dawn Amato

That is my problem. I have the desire to do some mail art and send it out but it seems inappropriate if I can not add a return address so the recipiant can send something back to me. So, so far I have not sent anything. Still floating in midwest, waiting for the first snowflake.

Dawn amato

DAWN

You are welcome to use MY ADDRESS as YOUR ADDRESS

Dawn Amato
2101 Baneberry Way East
Chanhassen, MN 55317 usa

Just until snap puppies snap dragons cheer up

I just might take you up on that, using my name and your return address.
The idea is in the wind...let's see how/if it flies.

Dawn Amato

I love the exchange typically involved in mailart. But I am not limited by it. I have participated in the invisible art movement where I created art and hung it in trees around museums and public gathering places (including the now crowded Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas) I created the art simply to share... with no expectation of a return or even an opportunity to see how it was received. But it was also very liberating to create art without those restrictions.
So don't be hampered by the lack of a return address, Dawn. You can even receive your mail at any post office c/o General Delivery.
keep on creating!
dADa
dallas, tx 75354-2913 usaDawn Amato wrote:

Thank you dADa Vark. I will try to get some things out. All my addresses are boxed and "in transit" so I have to winnow the groups and sites for addresses to mail to but all is still "all systems go" for me concerning mail art. I haven's given it up for deep-see shark dancing or my all time favorite, desert cloud counting yet!( Hint: it doesn't rain that often in deserts.)

Dawn Amato

ummm yes. It's not the end of the world if I don't hear back,
but I DO enjoy the actual exchange.
And, as well as the art, getting to know the sender via the
odd personal notations or choice of sendings. Over time it
does feel like hearing from a friend, don't ya think?
ps: Michael, was it you or M. Lumbe who requested Haw'n
music? During my recent relocate, mail art corrospondence
went 'awol' from the moving company. Sorry for the vagueness,
but I have these recordings I'm waiting to send out to one or the
other of you (all I remember is Mike in England!). Again,
apologies.
Aloha & best wishes from (newly freezing) Kate

Naturally YES -
Me started mailart by myself before! i heared about it.

First I ownly kowed mail - lopng letters and original artworks.

Times got speeded up!

Something I did very well: To set up Messageboards for free.

I think.

Merlin

Yes you did Merlin... this IS a good service.
Helpful too. For example/ zum beispiel, now I
can send Michael his music (see letter below),
and get just a little out from under my backlog.
So, I thank you - danke sehr, Merlin. Hope
you're having a good weekend!
Aloha, Kate

no its not the end of the world. sometimes it works the other way, like today where i have a nice document? or maybe its just a book from somebody i do not know. Roman Castenholz? a german, perhaps you know this person merlin? Always nice to get soemthing unsolicited like this.
As for the hawaiian music, yes that was me kate. I belong to the hawaiian tape club here in England. I prefer the old music like gabby pahinwi? etc. Michael leigh

Hi Michael. Well I don't have Gabby P. but I do have
for you very moving chants, pule/prayers and other
music by Aunty Edith Kanakaole and also by Maiki,
whose work includes chants with the haunting winds
off the Pali in the background.
Chickenskin time, brah!
Post Office says takes 5-10, so shouldn't be long.
Pau for now,
Kate

Hi all, documentation and replies are not the same thing. When I send mail art out I am not concerned that I might not get a reply, the sending is a gift. I am not worried about what happens to the art after I put it in the mail. It can get sent, lost, trampled, files, delayed, altered, destroyed, wahtever. Once it has left my hands fine, fate has it's ways with it. Documentation is another thing though. Usually it is some form of record of the participents to a project, a mail art call. I have seen all kinds of documentations, lists of names, lists of name with addresses, color repoductions of all the art, some of the art, cds and website docs. I've seen websites with all the art, some of the art or just names. I myself have done lists with addresses and websites with the art. I also have failed and not gotten a doc out. I am very, very overdue for a documentation. I will do it eventually. SOme people might think I failed and that they might not ever see the doc. Well sorry, what a suprise when it does come. How will it come, I dunno...I might send to all, I might just post it on the web. I try to stick with the first rule of mail art I learned,

"no guilt"
"guilt free mail art"

I saw a comment from Ruud, his suggestion to a new commer was to send to someone not already overwhelmed with mail art...... Interesting thought, how does one know who is "overwhelmed by mail art"???

In the begining I used to take it personally if someone did not respond to me. I panicked, oh no, was my art not good enough? Then I learned, so what, maybe it's not even art, maybe it's just a hello, a drop in the bucket, a wave in the universe....

I recall somewhere that even Ray who recieved TONS of mail art could not reply to all.....I wish I could, but as arto posto used to say, perhaps the mail art I just recieved does not "twang" with me.....send it on, alter it, files it, collage it,giveit away, glue it to your car.....mail art!

I would like to see that car, maybe go touring across America and Europe in it. This sounds like a mail car(LL) to me.

Dawn Amato