Postcards from the Edge
The premise behind Postcards from the Edge is to revisit the lost art of postcards. Postcards played an important and controversial role throughout history, with the first known postcard – a hand painted card by the writer Theodore Hook in 1840. It is thought that Hook’s intent in mailing the card to himself, was to act as a practical joke on the postal service – featuring a caricature of post office workers – which would be viewed by workers and officials as the card made its way through the system.
In 1943, the American artist Ray Johnson began experimenting with the idea of postal art, sending postcards, objects, sketches, collages – any form of correspondence the postal service was willing to deliver. In turn, his recipients would forward their own creations to Johnson and to other fellow artists creating a social network, and by so doing, bypass the traditional gallery. The postal service thus became the medium of choice for the distribution and exposure of their artwork. This came to be known as Ray Johnson’s New York Correspondence School. By the early 60’s, the art movement Fluxus further popularized the idea of mail art or postal art as it had come to be known.
In a 1968 interview, Johnson explained that he found mailed correspondence interesting because of the limits it puts on the usual back and forth interaction and negotiation that comprises communication between individuals. Correspondence is “a way to convey a message or a kind of idea to someone which is not verbal; it is not a confrontation of two people. It’s an object which is opened in privacy, probably, and the message is looked at … You look at the object and, depending on your degree of interest, it very directly gets across to you what is there”. (wikipedia)
Postcards from the Edge continues this postal art tradition with the intent of exploring how art can act as a tool in critiquing the social and cultural dissemination of information in an increasingly digital and virtual driven age governed by social media and AI.
Furthermore, the digital rendering of the postcards is contrasted by the analogue elements of a physical piece of art being processed and moving through physical space with the postal service as its medium. This approach negates certain aspects of privacy – exposing its content and intent freely to multiple viewers in the process. The process also acts as an informal art exhibit, not limited by exclusivity and class as is sometimes associated with established art galleries.
100 postcards of each unique image will be printed, with each numbered and signed by the artist on the back. Each card is printed on premium paper (330–350 gsm paper weight) coated with a matte finish and measure 4 x 6 inches. Postcards will be mailed from Catania, Sicily, Italy where the artist presently resides.
An online map also features where each of the Postcards from the Edge were delivered via the postal service.
Each card costs $8 which is inclusive of taxes, printing and postage. The option also exists to purchase multiple cards if you wish to send them out yourself to friends.
Showing 1–12 of 25 results
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100 Love Sonnets
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after Van Gogh
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between Shadow and Soul,
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Birds. and other Short Stories (after Hitchcock)
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case of the Wounded Angel (after Simberg)
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case. of the Shadow Puppets
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Day 03, poP (white Rabbit Series)
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Day 10, in the Garden (white Rabbit Series)
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Day 18, in the Dutch Mountains (white Rabbit Series)
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Death of a Moth ∴ after Wolfe
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edge. of Tomorrow
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encounter at the Cafe
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