Mail Art - lucca grapevine

4 - December 2012 GRAPEVINE
Mail Art
T
Every weekend in December, children are
invited to write letters to Babbo Natale,
decorate their envelops and make pictures
of elves at Santa’s workshop next to the
Proloco of Bagni di Lucca. See What’s
On, page 15, for more details.
A Spello l’Infiorata was the Mail Art
Exhibition held in Umbria in June and
July last year, curated by Maria Zamboni.
Below, an example from the catalog.
his original and fascinating
initiative, open to artists,
poets and enthusiasts, has
for its theme the Lima
River Valley and Bagni di Lucca, an ancient
thermal spa known since prehistoric times.
In the 19th century Bagni di Lucca became a
summer capitol, attracting many creative personalities: Byron, Shelley, Elisabeth Barrett
and Robert Browning, Heine, Lamartine,
Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni.
MAIL ART is art and culture through
postal communication, composed of images
and words. Introduced in Italy as Arte
Postale by the Futurists in 1906, only much
later, in 1962, was it renamed Mail Art by
Ray Johnson and the famous New York
School of Correspondence.
The Pro Loco and Municipality of Bagni
di Lucca (www.comunebagnidilucca.it)
are organizing an exhibition in the Town
Hall from 12 to 28 July, 2013. A catalog
will be prepared and presented at the
exhibition.
Curators of the initiative, exhibition and
catalog are Maria Zamboni (promoter of
Mail Art and curator of the 2011 Mail Art
Display in Spello), Morena Guarnaschelli
(artist and international coordinator) and
Angelo Paionni (graphic designer and photographer).
Participants may submit their works in an
envelop (15 cm by 25 cm maximum), to be
mailed no later than 30 April 2013 to: Bagni
di Lucca e … dintorni – Mostra MAIL
ART presso Morena Guarnaschelli – via
Lorenzo Viani 7 – Fornoli 55022 – Bagni
di Lucca (LU) Italy.
The works will be received free of charge,
will not be returned, and may be used for further events or displays. Drawings, pictures,
collages, poetry, narrative, or other techniques can be reduced to fit on the front of an
envelop or postcard, along with sender's
name and address (including eventual email
address). Once on display, the envelope's
reverse side will be fixed on a panel and so
will not be visible.
The work must be signed and stamped
with post office cancellation, and
once completed with address and
cancelled stamp, it may be
inserted in another larger
mailing envelop so that it
arrives at its destination without misappropriation or mishandling.
For further information:
Tel. 320 1107330
[email protected]
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Collector Eraldo di Vita published Mail Art:
Uno Sguardo sull’arte moderna in the context
of the Mail Art exhibition held at the Villa
Mazzarosa, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca). He
solicited mail art from famous artists including
Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg (above).