MinXus-LynXus III | Mink Ranch

MinXus Mail Bag: “On the Road” Mail Art by Jessica Manack (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)

Posted on August 1, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Jessica Manack (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)

“who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey leaving a trail of ambiguous picture postcards of Atlantic City Hall,” – Allen Ginsberg, Howl

Travel mail art, usually serial, usually issued as postcards from different locations on a journey, is a fascinating & fun correspondence art genre. Here at MinXus-Lynxus we have documented this travel or “On the Road” mail art in the past. But we have not received much recently.

So we were thrilled to receive a perfect example (albeit one postcard) of travel mail art sent by our dear postal friend Jessica Manack. (This also provides us with yet another occasion to include a beloved quote from Allen Ginsberg’s Howl that describes perfectly the travel mail art genre. Some of you are probably sick of it.)

“On the Road” mail art chronicles a journey & thus constructs a narrative. In the imaginative hands of correspondence artists, the story usually becomes much more than a record of places, landmarks & events (like what you ate for dinner).

Such work is often focused on the stream-of-consciousness process in the traveler’s mind rather than the exterior world. For example, Marie Wintzer did an extraordinary series of cards on a train trip across Japan that included her inmost thoughts & corresponding sketches of what she saw passing outside the train window.

The legendary Grigori Antonin (Minnesota, USA) issued cards describing a visit he supposedly made to Prague that in all likelihood never occurred. (Or maybe it did?) He carefully presented his views on tourist postcards of historic & cultural sites mixing fact & fiction in a most confusing way. He used various locations in Prague to reflect his views about other mail artists, among other musings.

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Jessica Manack is known to many in the Eternal Network. As you might infer from her comments, she is a part of the group that works in & advances the spirit of Fluxus (aka Post-Fluxus, Neo-Fluxus). (Although her work is not limited to Fluxus!) Fluxus had a foundational role in the mail art network, especially in the 1960s & 70s & the tradition continues. Indeed, Jessica Manack has attended the annual FluxFest in the past & even met Diane Keys!

Deepest thanks to Jessica Manack!

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MinXus Mail Bag: Stamp Vispo by William Mellott (Tainan, Taiwan)

Posted on July 30, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by William Mellott (Tainan, Taiwan)

We extend a secret MinXus handshake & a hoot & holler a big “Howdy” to William Mellott on this, his first Mink Ranch appearance. May we look forward to many more!

This wonderful card came all the way from William Mellott’s current headquarters in Taiwan – another Mink Ranch first DW says. But we understand he was actually raised in the Seattle (or Portland?) area of the United States West Coast and has participated in mail art for some time.

William Mellott is a vital contributor to the contemporary mail art scene. Here at the ranch we have been admiring his work from afar via the IUOMA-Ning gallery & blogs. We have even had the opportunity to exchange some electronic banter; but as the great Grigori Antonin used to say, “The proof is in the paper!” And here we have some material culture.

William is doing notable & very creative work with stamps (a foundation of mail art). This stamp vispo is a treasure, perfect for MinXus-Lynxus in every way. It certainly works as visual poetry.

Deepest thanks!

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Can Trashpo Endure in a Green World?: Cor Reijn (Zaandam, Netherlands)

Posted on July 11, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Cor Reijn (Zaandam, Netherlands)

We are elated to have received this wonderful card from our good mail art friend – Cor Reijn – in the Netherlands. With this elegant and highly conceptual piece, Cor Reijn expresses an issue that we are confident many are pondering at this moment. (Yet no one before has been able to express it so perfectly!) Thank you Cor Reijn.

We believe the question is: Can Trashpo (solely based in found, discarded material) endure in a world that is growing increasingly conscious of being “green” (attuned to the environment; avoiding consumer wastefulness). We present no answer but are aware that Trashpo is, indeed, being tested in changing times. Yet is not all art tested to see if it is worthy of being passed to the nest generation and beyond? Trashpoets, Kulters and Jaynists must look into their own hearts for answers.

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Secret Masters of Add & Pass: Sticker Dude, Jon Foster, Ed Giecek, Fleur Helsingor, Debra Mulnick

Posted on July 9, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art “add & pass book” including The Sticker Dude (Joel Cohen) (New York City, USA); Jon Foster (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA); Ed Giecek (Concrete, Washington, USA): Fleur Helsingor (Oakland, California, USA); Debra Mulnick (Boise, Idaho, USA). Thanks to Debra Mulnick for sending!

Tenderfoots might recall we are applying our Investigative Mail Art skills at MinXus-Lynxus to the current Add & Pass (A&P) phenom that has embraced, engulfed and enthralled the Eternal Network. Formidable waves of paper (and now entire books) are circulating the globe. We would like to know who (to thank!) and why. Debra Mulnick kindly sent this very nice “add & pass book” (more on the use of this term later). This is certainly a fine example of contemporary A&P. We are thrilled to document this and other examples from the current mania.

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Our previous installment of “Secret Masters of Add & Pass” focused on the great mail artist Jon Foster. Based on his numerous appearances in this book, we can only conclude he is a central figure in the current “movement.” Jon Foster seems to have initiated this piece.

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We do not wish to serve in the role of Network Language Police nor Defenders of Eternal Network Heritage nor Network Nit-Pickers. BUT a recent, lively discussion on Facebook alerted us to the concept so apparent in this blog of “Add & Pass Books” and that the practice is not without controversy. These a&p books seem to be growing in popularity. We are making no attempt to thwart what might prove to be a natural evolution of a genre or a fad blossoming like a mutant puffball that expires in dust on a lonely midnight lawn. Practicing Investigative Mail Art, we seek only to report facts and/or draw conclusions based on evidence and reason.

Without reconstructing the lengthy discussion that took place among veteran and Tenderfoot mail artists concerning a&p books, we will now present the Official MinXus-Lynxus Position on Add & Pass Books based upon thoughtful meditation: We prefer not to call them “Add & Pass Books.” They are “Collaborative Mail Art Books” or “Collaborative Tacky Little Pamphlets (TLPs).” Mail artists, of course, should call them whatever they like. Should you want to know the reasoning for our position, contact us and we will be glad to explain. Otherwise, “no big deal.” Carry on.

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MinXus Mail Bag: Postal Joy by Cherub Ayers (Oxford, Ohio, USA)

Posted on July 8, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Cherub Ayers (Oxford, Ohio, USA)

We are thrilled to welcome a rising star in the mail art constellations to our humble blog. We extend the customary “Howdy,” wink and secret MinXus handshake to a bright-eyed Tenderfoot who is practically a neighbor over yonder in Ohio: Cherub Ayers.

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This wonderful mail art by Cherub Ayers represents the general style and attitude we see in her work showcased at IUOMA-Ning. She emphasizes the friendship and encouragement found among mail artists. She exudes an optimism we probably all can appreciate right now, the world being as it is. We find her approach refreshing. Cherub Ayers’ work tends toward the vintage, which is prevalent in contemporary mail art.

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Deepest thanks to Cherub Ayers!

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MinXus Mail Bag: “Uproar” zine first issue by Jayne B. Lyons (Lakeville, Minnesota, USA)

Posted on June 7, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Jayne B. Lyons (Lakeville, Minnesota, USA)

The resurgence and vitality of Add & Pass in the current network is being duly noted many places. Zines are enjoying a revival as well.

Bonniediva’s Bon-Zine is one such new wave publication receiving much-deserved praise along with Jayne B. Lyon’s Uproar. In fact, despite only one (triumphant) issue, the Uproar cover has already achieved network-iconic status. But we believe we would be remiss not to document the emergence of Uproar, even if other zealots have scooped us on reporting this mail art Happening. (However, we resist presenting the zine in its entirety since that kind of publishing is really not in our prevue.)

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Uproar zine by Jayne B. Lyons

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The evolution of the contemporary mail art zine from the underground press of the 1960s, Punk fanzines of the 1970s and the “Golden Age” of network zines in the 1980s onward to the digital is a fascinating history to trace.

Contemporary zines tend to be smaller and content is usually provided by the zine’s creator, whereas zine predecessors easily included the work of dozens of other contributors in an issue (often patched in from mail art received) and subjects covered were literature, music, politics and a mix of related subjects.

The “Me Generation” focus of contemporary zines is not surprising and provides exposure to individual artists and writers in a field that is far more crowded than it was in previous decades. (Nor do we see anything negative in this shifted focus of zines.) Thus, it is interesting to note that both Jayne Lyons and Bonniediva are reverting to a more traditional magazine-like format that is broader in editorial focus (although the current zine elements remain pronounced).

Below, for example, Jayne Lyons includes a section of mail art received. This includes Amy Irwen (Minnesota, USA) and the great genius De Villo Sloan (New York, USA). On a practical level, we are sure the Old School zinesters quickly learned that empty space could easily be filled from entertaining mail art received.

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Excellent packaging as well:

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Chilean Zine + E’s Fan Club A&P by Orlando Nelson Pacheco Acuna

Posted on May 31, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Orlando Nelson Pacheco Acuna (Provincia de Cautin, Chile)

Mail artist Orlando Nelson Pacheco Acuna of Chile sent a wonderful envelope with material related to recent blog discussions about the popularity of zines and add & pass sheets. First, we think the zine is wonderful and love the calligraphy:

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Here are some sample pages, but I won’t reproduce the entire zine:

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The zine is devoted to the great Chilean author Gabriela Mistral.

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We are very impressed that one of the mysterious E’s Fan Club add & pass sheets traveled from its source (France?) to Chile and arrived at its final destination at the humble but grateful Mink Ranch. (Apparently this took two years!)

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Secret Masters of Add & Pass: Jon Foster (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)

Posted on May 28, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Jon Foster (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)

In several previous posts, we have noted an add & pass (a&p) mania that has gripped the Eternal Network. Starry-eyed Tenderfoots alongside those lovable, rancorous old codgers of “back in the day” are scrambling for a&p sheets as if it were a modern Gold Rush.

In our humble MinXus Mail Bag we now officially report an overwhelming deluge of a&p sheets that has been building from ominous, rumbling storm clouds upon the horizon for over a year. The heavens have opened full force.

Add & pass mania is good news in terms of the well-being and vitality of the network. Comparatively, we think, things seem to be going very well. The add & pass is an artistic genre historically linked to mail art, so the current activity is a sign of the continuity of tradition.

But what is the toll of A&P Noveaux upon the individual correspondence artist? Are we returning to factory-like production to respond to an inflationary demand? What are the consequences of guilt derived from not being able to respond to and mail every A&P sheet received? Are we producing a generation of A&P “specialists” who will be artistically obsolete when the deluge has subsided and, perhaps, the tide even turns against the excesses of A&P Noveaux?

Ah, but we are forever optimists when it comes to mail art! Our intention in this and other related blogs is to document the origins and completion of contemporary a&p sheets. Jon Foster appears to be playing a role in these exciting developments, based on this recent mailing received.

Someday, we imagine, mail art historians will seek the identities of those who were in central in this “movement” – to give them belated credit, of course. Even now, some of us would like to know who to thank for this overflowing cup of creations.

Mail art is full of conspiracies and theories. We wonder if A&P mania is the product of a secret cabal who seek to control the network for obscure purposes. We note that the a&ps seem to originate with a handful of individuals, although we make no claim to have yet “cracked the code” of a&p mania. But we will be sure to report on exciting developments in the A&P area as they develop.

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Mail art by Jon Foster (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)

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When Jon Foster isn’t busy putting new add & pass sheets into circulation, he does some interesting mail art. He kindly sent these pieces:

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Mail art by Jon Foster

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“Like A Leper Messiah” : DSFCult Responds (Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA)

Posted on May 22, 2019 by minkrancher

Mail art by DSF (Dopesick San Francisco) (Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA)

Minxus-Lynxus was proud to be the first blog to report on the rise of #dsfcult in the wake of DKult and other strange quasi-spiritual entities that arise in the Eternal Network as part of some mysterious cycle we have not yet deciphered:

https://minkranch.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/not-just-your-average-jonestown-the-rise-of-dsfcult-dopesick-san-francisco/

#dsfcult is the creation of Dopesick San Francisco, a genuinely interesting persona created by Michael Kelly. We were thrilled to receive this follow-up report to our original post. The card reflects what we are obeserving: #dsfcult has “legs.”

MinXus Mail Bag: Retrospective-In-A-Bag by Jayne Lyons (Lakeville, Minnesota, USA)

Posted on April 19, 2019 by minkrancher

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Mail art by Jayne Lyons (Lakeville, Minnesota, USA)

Recently Jayne Lyons celebrated her first year in the Eternal Network. This was, we think here at the ranch, a cause for celebration indeed because Jayne Lyons is a Tenderfoot who is emerging as an engaging “mail art persona” & sharing art that crosses a wide spectrum & appeals to many friends.

The significance of one year in the network appears to shrink in comparison to the decades of accomplishment we see in, for example, John M. & C Mehrl Bennett, Richard Canard, CrackerJack Kid, Ficus strangulensis, Sinclair Scripa (Tania), Carl Baker… you get the idea. Yet even a relative veteran knows a year is a long duration (sentence?) in Mail Art Time, which is not conventional time as experienced by “Normals,” as the SubGenius folks say.

Jayne Lyons has made important contributions to Trashpo and DKult; vintage, crafts, folk art-oriented mail art ( known as Mail Art Nouveaux at the Mink Ranch); and now she is involved in vispo & asemics. The pieces on display in this blog are a mailing of scale that provides a convenient retrospective of her work in the network thus far. The pieces are large & numerous.

This is yet another occasion to mourn the cost of mailing art. Once mail art was an inexpensive, egalitarian way to share material art lavishly with an appreciative audience. We understand this is no longer the situation & thus appreciate more this tremendous collection from Jayne Lyons done in classic mail art form.

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