ABOUT

WHERE ARE YOU is a participatory exhibition sent through the mail. It looks at artists (Francis Alys, Ray Johnson, Eleanor Antin, On Kawara, and David Horvitz) who have used mail art to disseminate information outside a gallery or art market context, activate the viewer, and create interpersonal connections. None of the artists work exclusively with correspondence, but they have all recognized the potential in the postal service. The beauty of mail art is that it exists on an everyday level. It arrives at one’s door amidst bills and magazines and junk-mail, removed from any institution designated as a place for art, requesting the recipient to accept, play, and contribute.


The exhibition came with instructions:

INSTRUCTIONS

PART ONE

Enjoy the exhibition. The images are examples of contemporary artists using the act of mailing to further their idea/message/concept/content. The essay serves as a basic introduction to these artists’ mail art projects.

PART TWO

ADD. Start your own piece of mail art. The blank postcard provided is in the second envelope. The prompt (Where Are You?) is for you to interpret and reflect upon however you see fit. Make any marks, with whatever mediums. Drawings, collage, prints, writing, musical notation, anything is welcomed. Remember: someone else will be completing your postcard. It is a shared creation.

SEND TO. Mail it to its recipient.

Like Ray Johnson, you’ll be mailing your postcard to someone you may not know, for them to complete. On the small envelope there is a mailing address randomly selected from the Where Are You? mailing pool. Maybe you know them; maybe it’s my sixth grade math teacher. Whoever it is, place your postcard in the envelope, and mail it out before Feb 25.

PART THREE

ADD. Finish someone else’s work.

Assuming everyone mails out their work to their random recipient, you should be receiving a postcard to complete very soon. What happens when you interact with someone else’s creative evidence? This is where it gets interesting… Don’t be afraid to work into/over/around/on top of someone’s marks. There’s beauty in that.

RETURN. Mail back to Where Are You?

When you are finished with the postcard, drop it in the mailbox. The proper return address is already printed. Thank you for partaking! I hope you enjoyed yourself!

Now the works are heading back my way, and it is so very exciting.