Curated by Autumn Wetli and Rachel Hoster
Mail art has been defined as "works produced by artists, often in postcard format, specifically intended to be mailed to other artists or be displayed in an exhibition" (Getty Research Institute, 2004).
Inspired by the mail art project created through the non-profit Printed Matter, the University of Michigan Library partnered with the Ann Arbor District Library in 2020 to solicit a call for mail art. Librarians at U-M and AADL saw this call as a way for their communities to connect from afar during the early and difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mail art submissions that the project received included a wide array of artistic media, as seen in the two..
The concept of “mail art” was developed in the 1960s, particularly through the work of artist Ray Johnson and his..
The subjects of connection and hope popped up across many postcard submissions. Even during these extraordinary and difficult times, self-reflection..
Another subject area that showed up in abundance across postcard submissions were reflections on physical and mental wellbeing. Submissions expressed..
Despite the struggles and difficulties felt over the pandemic, many postcard submissions contained an element of humor and fun, some..
Some postcards that didn’t fall into any specific theme, but all shared the characteristic of being visually-focused versus subject-focused. However,..
