The internet has made it easier than ever before to find and share artwork; anyone and everyone is a curator in their own space. While there are countless benefits to this democratization of art viewing, the power of the viewer’s experience can be somewhat diluted by the digital presentation. There is an emotional spark that is triggered by engaging a work of art in physical space that is virtually nonexistent in the digital realm.
Before the rise of the internet, postcards had long been the de facto means of sharing experience with those who could not be a part of an event, or happening. Made popular in the United States during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the postcard quickly gained traction as a form of souvenir. The cooperation of the Postal Service allowed individuals to send pictures to loved ones from remote, often exotic, locations with scribbled notes of longing for the recipient’s company. It is this intrinsic human desire to share experience that motivates the Postcard Collective.
Inspired by the mail art movement championed by Ray Johnson (among many others) in the 1970s, we seek to bridge the gap between the digital and tangible domains. By crafting and mailing postcards, the artists enter into a collaboration with the Postal Service as well as each other; the magic of the art-making experience is shared simultaneously by all participants. The result is a collection of unique art objects that have been assigned a point of origin in place and time by way of postmarking.
Our mission is to create a network for like-minded individuals to periodically share their art in the form of hand-made postcards. This opens up a direct, unmediated line of communication between artists, promoting a sense of comradery and connectedness throughout the Collective.