A small new project is started. I wrote the text below and sent it to several online groups. The start of this only took 20 minutes, including the spreading of the news. Is this how fast a mail-art project can be started these days? Here is the text I sent out to the groups:
RETURN MY ENVELOPES IN DIGITAL FORM.
Since 1980 I have been sending out mail-art. In 2005 it will be the 25 year anniversary, and for that I need some help from the mail-artnetwork. In the years 1997 till 1999 I did a project in which Iasked people to return my envelope in a digital form. I have published the results in on a number of pages on my site at www.iuoma.org .
Now I need your help again. I am extending the rangeof the envelopes I would like to get returned in a digital form. Theolder, the better. If you have an old envelope I sent you and you have the possibilities to digitize it (in these modern times that can be a scanner, a digital camera, etc.), I would welcome a digital image of it. Please keep the resolution of the image reasonable(about 200 Kbytes for a JPEG image would do). If you would like to send a lot, try sending in a CD-R with the digitized images.
The images are welcome at: r.janssen@iuoma.org . I know that it is a strange project since only people who received something from me canparticipate. But it is a typical project for our times: we enter the digital world more and more, but the real mail-artists treasure the old-fashioned envelopes. So do I, and I want to document all I sent out (and haven't documented yet) in a digital way. Especially works from years ago is very interesting for me since I am documented all I send out the last years in digital form already.
Ruud Janssen –P.O. Box 10388 – 5000 JJ Tilburg – Netherlands.
Deadline for sending in files: December 31st 2004.
So, this is the text that got out. I am currious to see what and if I get reactions. Normally mail-artists want to send in their own works to get this publisged. This project is the other way round. I want to have digital images of my old work, so I can use it in my documentation of the 25 years I was active.
Ruud
Monday, September 27, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Mail-Art series of 3 envelopes to Darlene Altschul - USA 
Most of my close correspondents know that I like to paint my envelopes. Most of the envelopes I have sent our during the last years went to my partner in Heidelberg. So that collection is still complete and might be exposed to the public one day. Only a selected few others receive painted envelopes. Sometimes they are sent in the form of a series. Just like the one I sent this month to Darlene Altschul, with whom I have been corresponding since 1983. Three envelopes are on their way to the USA. when they have arrived all three, Darlene can see the total image I created. The three envelopes were larger than an A4 size, so it didn´t fit completely under my scanner.
Since 2003 I am scanning all the envelopes too before they are sent out. So hundreds of bright images are saved on my computer. I have also burned them on a CD, so they are well archived. Sometimes I look at the slides of these envelopes and realize that I have made thousands of envelops these last years. Lets count. About 600 envelops in a year, and I have been active almost 25 years....... And the average used to be much higher (with a record of 400 envelops in one month, but in those days I didn´t paint them).
I wonder what happened to all those envelopes I sent into that jungle called network. Did any survive the years?
Ruud
Most of my close correspondents know that I like to paint my envelopes. Most of the envelopes I have sent our during the last years went to my partner in Heidelberg. So that collection is still complete and might be exposed to the public one day. Only a selected few others receive painted envelopes. Sometimes they are sent in the form of a series. Just like the one I sent this month to Darlene Altschul, with whom I have been corresponding since 1983. Three envelopes are on their way to the USA. when they have arrived all three, Darlene can see the total image I created. The three envelopes were larger than an A4 size, so it didn´t fit completely under my scanner.
Since 2003 I am scanning all the envelopes too before they are sent out. So hundreds of bright images are saved on my computer. I have also burned them on a CD, so they are well archived. Sometimes I look at the slides of these envelopes and realize that I have made thousands of envelops these last years. Lets count. About 600 envelops in a year, and I have been active almost 25 years....... And the average used to be much higher (with a record of 400 envelops in one month, but in those days I didn´t paint them).
I wonder what happened to all those envelopes I sent into that jungle called network. Did any survive the years?
Ruud
Monday, September 13, 2004
Fight with Yahoo!
Those large Internet firms don't always make life easily. Recently I got problems with yahoo!. They are hosting both http://www.iuoma.org and http://www.fluxusheidelberg.org for we. As a webmaster I must do the things to keep these sites online. When one pays for the site (hosting, datatraffic and e-mail addresses) you don't get the advertisings. But lately they refused the creditcard I used to pay with. They even told me they would shut down the accounts if I didn't reactivate things. That was the problem however. They programm had a fault in it which didn't allow me to reactivate.
What to do? E-mails didn't work. Calling the USA is the next step. With special phonenumbers this actually is quite cheep. Only 1 Eurocent each minute are the costs. So one hour on the phoneline with the USA only costs less then a US-dollar.
The phonecalls taught me how the USA thinks of creditcards. They tried to convince me my creditcard was not good, so I should get a new one. I called 5 times, and all 5 times they told me the same. No-one believed me that their website had a fault. But somehow they did change the website so I was able to reactivate after a struggle of words for several weeks.
Internet sure has become a jungle.
Ruud
What to do? E-mails didn't work. Calling the USA is the next step. With special phonenumbers this actually is quite cheep. Only 1 Eurocent each minute are the costs. So one hour on the phoneline with the USA only costs less then a US-dollar.
The phonecalls taught me how the USA thinks of creditcards. They tried to convince me my creditcard was not good, so I should get a new one. I called 5 times, and all 5 times they told me the same. No-one believed me that their website had a fault. But somehow they did change the website so I was able to reactivate after a struggle of words for several weeks.
Internet sure has become a jungle.
Ruud
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Exhibiting the TAM Rubberstamp Archive in L-Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
Some of you will have received the stampsheets that were sent into the network ands which had to be sent to Gik Juri in Moscow, Russia. The exhition dates are now set. The location is the famous L-Gallery in downtown Moscow. Dates: October 21st till November 6th 2004. Im am working on the catalogue which will document the history of the archive and lots more. About 44 pages the booklet will become.
Introduction-text in the catalogue:
"At the end of 2003 I was asked if I was interested in doing an exhibition in Moscow connected to my mail-art activities. First I proposed to exhibit the private correspondance between Litsa Spathi and myself. This because it is one of the best visual examples, of how far mail-art can go. But during the e-mail discussions between Gik Juri and me it was chosen to exhibit a selection of the TAM-Rubber Stamp Archive that would be sent in by the Mail-Art network itself.
Because the TAM Rubberstamp Archive is now already quite old and large, a better documentation of it was needed, and so the production of this catalogue started. Some texts were published before and are also available on the internet. Also I included some articles that illustrate the history of rubberstamps in general. The collection of texts and illustrations as you get them here are the first larger publication that documents this collection"
If you still have sheets at your home, the deadline for sending them to Russia was 31st August. If you hurry, they might still be on time for the exhibition, but probably won't get into the catalogue.
Ruud
Introduction-text in the catalogue:
"At the end of 2003 I was asked if I was interested in doing an exhibition in Moscow connected to my mail-art activities. First I proposed to exhibit the private correspondance between Litsa Spathi and myself. This because it is one of the best visual examples, of how far mail-art can go. But during the e-mail discussions between Gik Juri and me it was chosen to exhibit a selection of the TAM-Rubber Stamp Archive that would be sent in by the Mail-Art network itself.
Because the TAM Rubberstamp Archive is now already quite old and large, a better documentation of it was needed, and so the production of this catalogue started. Some texts were published before and are also available on the internet. Also I included some articles that illustrate the history of rubberstamps in general. The collection of texts and illustrations as you get them here are the first larger publication that documents this collection"
If you still have sheets at your home, the deadline for sending them to Russia was 31st August. If you hurry, they might still be on time for the exhibition, but probably won't get into the catalogue.
Ruud
Thursday, September 02, 2004
25 YEARS - reactions
Three people reacted. So that is actually quite interesting. People are reading these BLOGS and are reacting. In the IUOMA-group (see my site http://www.iuoma.org for a link to that) I actually made a database with other BLOG-URL's of mail-artists that have one as well.
The communication sure has changed. People now actively look for information and react when they want to. I write a text and don't even know who will read this. Someone misses my coloured mail? I am still sending it out. Only to a selective circle nowadays. Also to special persons in my life. About 2000 acrylic painted envelops are now saved on one location and that would make a gigantic exhibition on its own........
Yes, still have that P.O.Box, but not that much comes in last years. More mail-artists from the 80-ies have stopped or have slowed things down. The new generation is finding it hard to make the contact. Same like we had a hard time making contact with the founders (?) of this art-form.
My only advice. How did I get in contact with the 60-ies and 70-ies people? By provoking them or just by sending them good stuff. Garbage normally doesn't work.
What to do in 2005? Still undecided, and you all will find out for sure.......
Ruud
The communication sure has changed. People now actively look for information and react when they want to. I write a text and don't even know who will read this. Someone misses my coloured mail? I am still sending it out. Only to a selective circle nowadays. Also to special persons in my life. About 2000 acrylic painted envelops are now saved on one location and that would make a gigantic exhibition on its own........
Yes, still have that P.O.Box, but not that much comes in last years. More mail-artists from the 80-ies have stopped or have slowed things down. The new generation is finding it hard to make the contact. Same like we had a hard time making contact with the founders (?) of this art-form.
My only advice. How did I get in contact with the 60-ies and 70-ies people? By provoking them or just by sending them good stuff. Garbage normally doesn't work.
What to do in 2005? Still undecided, and you all will find out for sure.......
Ruud
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