In 1987 I dicovered mailart but did not understand it at all. My husband, an art profesdsor, did and did his best to explain it to me. When I shrugged my shoulders he advised me to do a show so I thought about it. I could not come up with a name and kept asking him what to name it. He finally got frustrated and said," LaVona, you name it." I jumped out of my chair and said, sreamed, "Tha's it, You Name It" I made out invitations, sent them out and received work. I answered each contribution and ended upgetting more work from each contributor filling a large gallery. I sent documentation to each person and knew that after spending $1,200.00 I knew a little bit but not much about mail art. The post office brought a mail box and bags to show. I had a huge picture of my dear puzzled mailman. The postal people showed up and a few told me that I had things that should not have gotten past the P.O. ( censored mail) I hung that work high so children wouldn't be faced with it. I did show it to my grandchildren and explained what it was about. They still remember that. I see what is going on now as E Mail Art and don't do much about it anymore. I like the hands on mail. I recently did a Mud Flap Girl Show which cost me a bit but it was worth it. I was mentoring a new comer to mailart shows.
www.picturetrail.com/lavonasherarts if you are interested in seeing it. --- Reid Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think we need to distinguish between individual > discrimination > (censorship) and censorship in a group context. Yes, > we all make > discriminatory decisions on a daily basis (picking a > particular > breakfast item over another, reading one publication > and not another, > holding certain political beliefs and not others, > liking certain > artwork/artists and not others). And we all > discriminate individually > when it comes to mail art because I can be assured > that none of us is > in contact with every mail artist in the world and > responds to every > single mail art call. > > However, in the case of activities that involve > groups (including > mail art shows), I think Allan's point is well > taken. If a major > position of the mail art network is to have free > (yes, I know about > postal rate increases) and open interchange, then we > should be > opposed to censorship and similar limitations. > > As for interpretations of themes, I have had a > similar circumstance > regarding my submission to a show. I received an > e-mail from the > organizer saying that he didn't think my work was > germane to the > topic. Then a day or two later he sent a follow-up > message, > apologizing and stating that upon further study he > realized the work > was appropriate and a clever solution. > > Reid > > Reid Wood (State of Being) > "Haven't-Garde Art" > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://havent-gardeart.blogspot.com > > On May 22, 2007, at 1:34 AM, Taraka dd wrote: > > > > > > > > > I agree if work will exhibited publicly - be seen > by minors then > > there is not a legal way to allow what is deemed > inappropriate. If > > I am having a"kid-friendly" exhibition, > > > > I state it on my call and found that people really > respect that. I > > don't agree that as artists we should be against > all censorship. > > Censorship (or discrimination of any kind) > > > > is a human function that is quite natural for > some people to want > > censorship and of course can be abhorrant to > others - we are all > > morally individuals and therefore will never see > > > > everything the same way. I sent a cow to a 'cat > call', because my > > message was - "don't feed cows to cats"...calls > are open to > > interpretation...and it is the discrimination of > > > > the one in charge to accept or reject. > > > > My two-cents worth > > > > Taraka Tee > > > > > > > > > > For clarity: > > > > > > My view is NOT that art and mail art must be > shocking or > > "pornographic" in order to be thoughtful or > interesting. In fact > > the author of the post in question (Reed A.), > sends out incredibly > > thoughtful, and thought provoking work that does > not use images > > that anyone would likely call pornographic. Also, > I personally do > > respect both the letter and intent of the mail art > calls that I > > reply to. I just think that there is room for > other, more "open" > > interpretations, and that these too should be > respected. > > > > > > If an exhibit will be seen by minors, then it is > reasonable given > > the social constructs in which we operate, to > place images that are > > deemed to be inappropriate for minors in an adults > only forum. > > Hiding works with sexual content from adults is > just plain silly > > though. > > > > > > As artists we should be AGAINST censorship of > all kinds. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/lavonasherarts ____________________________________________________________________________________ Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. http://sims.yahoo.com/
