Latin American Mail Art in the Latter Half of the 20th Century
Whole lotta postin’ going on, and the Blanton Museum tells all about it
By Wayne Alan Brenner, 10:00AM, Mon. Apr. 27, 2020
Ah, the eternal network of postal artists!
Ray Johnson, for starters. Eventually, Anna Banana … Carlo Pittore … Cracker Jack Kid … Ryosuke Cohen … John Held Jr … Honoria … Ruud Jansen … Josh Ronsen … Rude Joss Ransom.
So many artists, so many stamps, such a dope scope of envelopes roping hope together: Hope of sharing art beyond one’s own burg – and beyond the sometimes restrictive bounds of the hightoned gallery scene. On and on through the international mail system, crossing borders, embossing corridors of communication with the high relief of personal creativity sent flying hither and yon.
Yawn? No, it’s rather exciting for some people (your current reporter: guilty), and if that’s also the case for you, citizen, you’ll want to Zoom in on Tuesday (April 28, 5pm) to catch Blanton curators Vanessa Davidson and Florencia Bazzano discussing mail art as a ready-made medium for artistic survival in Latin America from the 1960s to the 1970s, and for radical experimentation continuing into the 1990s.
“Artistic survival,” is it?
And “radical experimentation,” as well?
Those are two things that aren’t far from our current zeitgeist, we’ll suggest: Not too damned far at all. Reckon it’s a perfect time to learn of the precedents set by our mail-art friends from south of the border and back in the day.
And, after that? Well, there's always more arts events in this town, aren't there? Link says yes.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
March 22, 2024
March 22, 2024
Mail Art, Latin American Mail Art, Late 20th Century Mail Art, Blanton Museum, The Network Is Eternal