I will say that I have received pornography, too. I did include it in the
exhibition, because it was a college venue, and thus adult audiences. I do not
post anything that I personally consider to be pornography on my weblog,
because I do not know who is viewing it. There may be children viewing the web
site, and I will not subject them to such things. Pornography is ultimately
subjective by it's very nature. What I consider pornographic, or offensive,
others would perhaps not see as such. Perhaps, if a curator only wants to show
items relating to the theme, it should be stated in the call as such. This
being said, I agree that the original intent of mailart (as I understand it)
was anti-gallery, anti-establishment, anti-regulation. The rules occur when
the artworks are intended for public show, which is also , by the way, not in
the original intent of mailart. I believe that is was for free-exchange between
artists, and whoever saw it along the way (postal workers, etc) that was a good
thing, too. I don't believe mailart was intended for gallery or museum shows
in it's original conception. Time changes things..... And, people live by
rules and just can't help themselves from forming rules and subjecting others
to them.
P.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wed, 9 May 2007 8:21 AM
Subject: (",) along other lines....
>And what if you like the theme and the curators think
you didn't respond correctly and return the piece?
You know, along this line, I've kinda always wondered, and I admit it is a "pet
peeve" of mine, why is it that folks just seem to send whatever they want
rather than sticking to the theme? For example, if someone asks folks to send
mermaids and what they receive is tigers, cars, and tampax. I've scanned
through many a mail art call documentation online and wondered what the
original call was for since the stuff I'm looking at isn't related. Ok, ok, so
shoot me, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Yes, I know about the idea of
non censorship, and if the intent was to show all then all is shown. But this
whole thing also relates to how ever did all these "rules" come about in what I
had thought was a practice that had no rules. Somewhere along the lines folks
decided that they would make up some guidelines, suggestions and a mail art
rule was created. Ray Johnson didn't send out mail art calls and do
documentation did he? Maybe he did but I don't know, I'm fairly young in the
movement after all, what do I know? What I do know, and again shoot me if you
want, I have had porno sent to me in response to my calls. Is this ok? Not to
me, sorry.
Peace,
Dragonfly Dream
"Paradise is exactly like where you are right now... only much, much better."
-- Laurie Anderson
Dragonfly Dream
www.dragonflydream.com
gotta mail art call to post?
go here-
http://htmlgear.tripod.com/guest/control.guest?a=sign&u=dragonflydream&i=2&r=
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