hablar – mirar – ser – the habit of reuse – Juan Petry – 2023
hablar | mirar | ser – Mail Art – Send a letter now!
Imagine you get a letter, a real letter, delivered by a postman, like a hundred years ago. You feel the paper, the weight, you look at the envelope, the sender. There is a person, somewhere, who has thought of you, who has done physical work, designed an envelope, put together a content. There is a message for you! There might be something written on a piece of paper, black and white, almost like it was carved in stone. A commitment to communicate with you. There is anticipation when opening. The surprise when discovering the content, your eyes fly over the text, the drawings. You read. you read again You think of the person who wrote to you, of the distance. And you feel connected. About space and time.
Around 1910, artists in Europe began to write letters to each other. Directly from artist to artist. The letters contained messages, small works of art, mostly small collages made of paper for reasons of cost and weight, tears from newspapers, sketches. Art passed from one artists hand to anothers. The goal was the connection, the message. No art market, no art dealer, no art gallery, no curator, no museum, no art historian: no money, no selection, no return.
For the artists of that time, Mail Art was a medium of communication and networking. At that time there was something like the secrecy of letters. Respect for others and their intimate, private opinions. The messages flew back and forth between the artists quickly and in large numbers. No censorship, highly political, against violence, totalitarianism, fascism, war and sceptical about science, politics and technocracy.
Its time to write letters again. You are invited. Write and draw on the paper. Use the envelope. Address your feelings and emotions. Send it to the unknown. With luck you will receive your message. Enjoy to be part of a contemporary art movement. Send your message now!
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