Mail Art Madness
Here at Two Hands Paperie, we’re antsy for a little March Madness of our own. No, we’re not opening a line of decorative foam fingers and hand felted basketball hoops. We’re talking Mail Art!
“What is Mail Art,” you may be asking. “And where did it come from?”
The origin of mail art is disputed. Some want to let Cleopatra take the credit, referring back to the stunt she pulled with Julius Cesear. Hidden and rolled up in a carpet, she was delivered to Cesear andbecame the mail art. I say, let’s give credit where credit is due and direct our attention to Ray Johnson. His artistic and unconventional correspondence with hundreds of friends and acquaintances through the postal service in the 1960s created and pushed into light “Mail Art”, sometimes known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art. If you are interested, you can find lots more information on Ray Johnsonhere. But before we steer away from Johnson, his quote is worth a mention. “Mail Art has no history, only a present.”
Which leads us to our present and our own call for entires. During the month of March, Two Hands is accepting any and all mail art. We’re calling out to you to submit one, twelve, or fifty pieces of, well, anything. What you can mail has no limitations! Mail a bowling ball. Mail a shoe. An oven mitt. A chip. A watercolored postcard. Anything you like! The only restrictions are it must be received during the month of March, and it must be sent through the Postal Service. (No hand deliveries allowed!) Nervous to add a stamp to your beautifully crafted envelope or river rock? Don’t be! The “wrapper” is part of the art!
Why participate? What does Mail Art have to do with you? Well first (and perhaps most importantly) Two Hands will be publishing images of the artwork we receive. You (yes you) can have your fifteen minute claim to fame on our blog, Instagram, Facebook, andTwitter! AND, the first 50 people to mail something (with a return address of course) will receive a response from us! What is it? You’ll just have to wait and see.
Besides giving people their fifteen minutes of a fame, we’re hoping to spread the word about this incredible and approachable art form. We’re excited to see what we receive and are eager to display the work in the store. You’ll be able to come in to Two Hands and see the artwork as we receive it. (We’ll keep you posted on when we begin displaying it.) In addition, Two Hands is donating our collection of Mail Art to the University of Colorado’s Special Collections. When March ends and our exhibition is over, it can be revisited and be pulled out on campus to be enjoyed again and again. (If you aren’t familiar with University of Colorado’s Special Collections, then you are in for a treat.)
And lastly, we love and are always looking to support wonderful postal system.
All entries can be mailed to:
Two Hands Paperie
803 Pearl Street
Boulder, Colorado 80302
USA
“What is Mail Art,” you may be asking. “And where did it come from?”
The origin of mail art is disputed. Some want to let Cleopatra take the credit, referring back to the stunt she pulled with Julius Cesear. Hidden and rolled up in a carpet, she was delivered to Cesear andbecame the mail art. I say, let’s give credit where credit is due and direct our attention to Ray Johnson. His artistic and unconventional correspondence with hundreds of friends and acquaintances through the postal service in the 1960s created and pushed into light “Mail Art”, sometimes known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art. If you are interested, you can find lots more information on Ray Johnsonhere. But before we steer away from Johnson, his quote is worth a mention. “Mail Art has no history, only a present.”
Which leads us to our present and our own call for entires. During the month of March, Two Hands is accepting any and all mail art. We’re calling out to you to submit one, twelve, or fifty pieces of, well, anything. What you can mail has no limitations! Mail a bowling ball. Mail a shoe. An oven mitt. A chip. A watercolored postcard. Anything you like! The only restrictions are it must be received during the month of March, and it must be sent through the Postal Service. (No hand deliveries allowed!) Nervous to add a stamp to your beautifully crafted envelope or river rock? Don’t be! The “wrapper” is part of the art!
Why participate? What does Mail Art have to do with you? Well first (and perhaps most importantly) Two Hands will be publishing images of the artwork we receive. You (yes you) can have your fifteen minute claim to fame on our blog, Instagram, Facebook, andTwitter! AND, the first 50 people to mail something (with a return address of course) will receive a response from us! What is it? You’ll just have to wait and see.
Besides giving people their fifteen minutes of a fame, we’re hoping to spread the word about this incredible and approachable art form. We’re excited to see what we receive and are eager to display the work in the store. You’ll be able to come in to Two Hands and see the artwork as we receive it. (We’ll keep you posted on when we begin displaying it.) In addition, Two Hands is donating our collection of Mail Art to the University of Colorado’s Special Collections. When March ends and our exhibition is over, it can be revisited and be pulled out on campus to be enjoyed again and again. (If you aren’t familiar with University of Colorado’s Special Collections, then you are in for a treat.)
And lastly, we love and are always looking to support wonderful postal system.
All entries can be mailed to:
Two Hands Paperie
803 Pearl Street
Boulder, Colorado 80302
USA
http://
