| February 10, 2006:
Eyes ahoy! And welcome to part 2 of PEEP 7. Where blue flowers
bloom and the big back and forth continues. Sans bombs but with
plenty of laffs. Speak friend and enter.
PEEP Cover/Carola Von Hoffmannstahl-Solomonoff, New York, USA
In the graphic style of American scandal mags from the 1950's.
This ish a pictorial dish of the urban political scene. Want BID
boys who hit & run? HUD bux to lift sagging real estate? Or how
about the skinny on Mao Tse Tung, eminent domain and those wacky
U.S. Mayors? Yeah, you can have it like that...
Mike Dickau, aka Captain Biology, has the touch. And the look.
See aliens (or are they bureaucrats?) abduct a beloved icon!
See Mike immortalize the moment! See art by Mark Dickau whenever
and wherever you can. Feasting your eyes shouldn't be difficult.
Mike's work appears in art shows regularly and has received the
imprimatur of Zippy the Pinhead. If you want to meet Mike, you
can find him at Jack's. Snapping photos of saucers.
On the dark side dear Paula can be. Reality is a sandwich she
didn't order. So she skillfully rearranges the cold cuts via
collage and hand tinting. Beautifully. PS: Her mailing address
has changed.
Detail from a tightly packed page of handwritten text in black
is black ink. With words struck out as definitively as Casey.
Minute by minute entries re street life and flat living in London
mingled with ruminations on Death in Venice. Pages from Simon
Warren's Journal Project appear in many Mail Art places. If all
were gathered together the result would a history of the here
and now. Through a pen darkly.
Collaboration/Mark Greenfield & D. Zinovjev, U.K. & Latvia
More black and white. A remarkable phantaste. So ornate an
arabesque it could be a psychedelic trivet. One line becomes
another. And returns eternally. Mark Greenfield also publishes
a tasty Mail Art zine: La Boheme Art.
Eye popping envelopes are a Mail Art specialty. C.Z. Lovecraft
puts orbs in orbit. Though his name evokes the revered Rhode
Island Recluse, C.Z. is more cheerful than H.P. His packets of
evocative ephemera and charming constructions are always a joy
to receive.
Wow. That's a tough one. What with so many countries needing
to be democratized by force. Plus all those folks who go
ballistic when cartoons poke fun at their prophets. But if we
shut our eyes tight and concentrate really hard, we might
imagine something as graceful and lovely as this color collage
by Isao Yoshoii.
The hardest part of picking which work by Henning to put in PEEP
is picking which work by Henning to put in PEEP. Since everything
he does is so fine. The only possible criteria is what looks
best when viewed on a monitor. So here goes. Two examples from
Henning Mittendorf's interpretation of the Arcana of the Tarot.
Group Efforts
Christmas In Connecticut/anti eminent domain installation by a group of residents from the Fort Trumbull neighborhood in New London, Connecticut, USA.
Photo: Doug Schwartz
The heart of a neighborhood is its people. But politicians,
developers and urban planners often see low and moderate income
neighborhoods as potential gold mines and dwellers therein as
impediments. In the USA, the greedy have turned totalitarian.
Using the power of government to seize land and homes. Their
weapon? Eminent domain. Aka the right of government to take
private property in the name of public use. Their new twist on
the meaning of "public use"? Relocation is Revitalization! In
June, 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court gave land grabbers the go ahead
to use eminent domain in the city of New London, Connecticut and
by extension, all over the country. A populist rebellion
followed. Go team!
The first and foremost team are those living in what's left of
the neighborhood of Fort Trumbull in New London. At Christmas,
a group of those residents decorated homes which have been seized
by local government. Homes that now stand vacant, awaiting the
bulldozer. A prime example of the transformations bureaucrats and
grand planners deliver. Santa sez the transformation wrought by
the residents was far better.
What Is Mail Art Catalogue/Group Show initiated by Fraenz Frisch in Lorentzweiler, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. Realized with assistance and support from the Cultural Commission of the Community of Lorentzweiler and local government officials.
Last year, Lorentzweiler transformed itself into the point of
destination for mega amounts of Mail Art via a show asking "What
Is Mail Art?" Over 250 artists from all over the world addressed
the question. Yet no nutshell answer was delivered. When it comes
to Mail Art, no such answer exists. A fuller description of the
show itself can be found in The Psychedelic Trivet Part 1. The
catalogue from the event is a handsome and interesting document.
The photos by Roland Azzeri, Fernand Boever, Frank Flener and
Pierre Hilbert are high quality and Tania Conte's layout is
inventive and thoughtful. Contact info for every artist is
included. As are statements by curators, local government
officials and correspondence relating to the show from various
mail artists. Though PEEP doesn't have the space to provide more
than a peep at the catalogue, perhaps a copy of "What is Mail
Art?" can be obtained from its creators at: http://www.mailart.lu
Words & Music
Poems & Chapbook of Dreams/Mark Sonnenfeld, New Jersey USA
Reading Mark Sonnenfeld is to be reminded that New Jersey was
once a place where beatniks roamed. Mark is a glorious throwback.
Giving hope that not all life in Jersey has been crushed beneath
conditoriums and McArt districts. Yet though Mark evokes the days
when Ginsberg & crew gamboled in Bayonne, he has his finger on
the current pulse of the Garden State. Like when he writes "now
everyone pays to f*** on the beach". (Sorry for the stars folks.
Mondo QT is family entertainment.) Or: "A poison paint factory
looms in the distance. Undercover agents are setting up a bust."
Mark publishes chapbooks and give-out sheets, with visuals often
provided via collaboration with artists from non Jersey locales.
Including Berlin & Moscow. You can find Mark at:
Mark Sonnenfeld
Marymark Press
45-08 Old Millstone Drive
East Windsor, New Jersey, O8520 USA
Zan Of 1000 Faces
As Described by David Solomonoff
Zanteson (Zan) Hoffman hails from Louisville, Kentucky. For over
20 years the Zan man has been a dynamo of ultra avant musical
activity. In 1983 he began exchanging postcard collages with mail
artists. Zan then expanded into audio. Recording ambient sounds
from his Drake University dorm room and distributing them via
cassette on his Zidsic (now Zanteson) label. Plugging into an
international underground network of madcap music and sound
collage. Since 83, Zan has segued into digital and completed
a musical project on an average of every eight and a half days.
Ranging from skewed new wave accordion pop under his Bodycocktail moniker to glitchy electronica under several guises,
such as Zanstones (early exploratory sound-on sound), Zanoisect
(his most extreme recordings), Masters of the Ungentlemanly Art
(collaborations) and Creamy Porn Stars (loops). Zan has delivered
many live performances in the USA and Europe, including a tour
of Spain. When touring, Zan collects field recordings. The world
spins: Zan captures the hum.
One last word about Mail Art. Or more accurately, a warning. In
a world of insta messaging and cultural quickies, Mail Art is
slower than molasses. So unless you like art and communication
what takes its time be careful. Becoming involved with Mail Art
could lead to a life long love thang.
Carola Von Hoffmannstahl-Solomonoff
"Reality is unrealizable"
Henning Mittendorf, 2006
"An artist will betray himself with some form of sincerity"
G.K. Chesterton, "The Dagger With Wings," The Incredulity of Father Brown, 1926
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