Géza Perneczky - Ruud Janssen

photographic reductions of the originals, or in Spanish, or French. Who were the
writers? You carefully hid or crossed out the signatures, but there were some writers
I recognised. Certain details, a name, a place, pointed to people we both knew.
But that knowledge has to remain a secret. You expose enough in any case!...»
(M. Gibbs' letter to U. Carrión. In: Artzien [→ Gibbs], #6, April 1979. n.p.)
«...Archiven zijn voor de specialisten, moelijk toegankelijk voor grote publiek. En
dit staat in scherp kontrast met een boekwinkel of galerie, plaatsen die voor iedereen
toegankelijk zijn... Is dit juist? Ik weet het niet... Ik kan de keren op de vingers van
één hand tellen: St:Petri in Lund (Jean → Sellem), Jean → Brown Archive in
Tyring ham en Hans → Sohm's Archif in Markgröningen. (...) ...antwoord op de
vraag waarom ik het archief heb opgericht en geopend: ik beschouw het als een
kunstwerk.»
(U. Carrión: Other Books and So Archief. In: Artzien [→ Gibbs], Vol. 2,
N°8, June 1980. n.p.)
(Second Thoughts): «...All but one of the texts originally appeared in various magazines
and catalogues during the last five years. In the meantime Ulises has revised
or expanded some his theories, and has added marginal notes. The most descriptive
essay is „From Bookworks to Mailworks“ which succinctly introduces these two
forms, and discusses individual works. All the other essays in the book tend to be
analytical and critical in tone. (...)
...What does the term „Mail Art“ refer to? – the activity, the medium, or the
product? Ulises concludes that it is the first, since the Postal system itself is simply
a distribution system, like galleries, or bookshops, or television and the product is
usually just an excuse to be part of the activity. Mail artists don't usually take a great
amount of care in producing their works for sending out, and they aren't particularly
attracted by exhibition or publication possibilities since these are so easily available.
It is, then, as Ulises notes, a privat cultural strategy, played out in one's own home,
one's own personal gallery and studio, and vith a non-selective distribution netwok
that anyone can be a part of. Altough there are a few (mostly self-proclaimed) Mail
Art „stars“, mail artists tend to emphasise the communality of their activity... I feel
that Ulises does not give enough credit to the importance of the spirit of cooperation
in Mail Art (...)
Second Thoughts comes at the right time: Book/Mail/Stamp Art has generated
a great deal of enthousiasm and euphoria among its adherents but very little
serious analysis or ciriticism. It is difficult to judge an art movement that rejects
all criteria, including that of value judgement itself... but in the wider perspective of
contemporary culture there are important issues at stake... Second Thoughts takes
the trouble to raise these issues, and to relats marginal art activities to a mainstream
of discourse.»
(Michael Gibbs: Thoughts on Second Thoughts. In: Artzien [→ Gibbs], Vol.
2, N°8, June 1980. n.p.)
«Please copy by hand Proust's „A la recherche du tempe perdu“ and send it to me
before the end of the 20th century. You may use the original French text or a translation
into your own language. Wichever language you use, spelling mistakes are
not accepted. A catalogue containning an integral reproduction of all entries will be
published (tentative date: 28 January 2041) and sent to all participants or eventuelly
to their legal heirs.»
(U. Carrión: The Hand-Written Mail Art Show. In: Arte Postale! [→Baroni],
#47, March 1984)
Ulisses Carrión: Erratic Art Mail International System. (Leaflet. Reprinted in: M.
Crane / M. Stofflet [eds.] Correspondence Art. Contemporary Art Press [→ Loeffler].
San Francisco, 1984. 129 p.)