in the eighties I was greatly involved in the world of mail-art networking. looking back I now realize that we were preparing ourselves for the coming of the internet with our mail-art shows, collaborations, mail-art- / networker congresses, mail-art magazines, and person to person exchange. at the very least this kind of work has led to many of the questions and answers now becoming vital in today's internet world.
my artistic work as a networker and my works in public spaces had a programmatic and exemplifying trait. I did not write long texts. this might be the reason crackerjack kid called me a "master of minimal communication". (more likely is that my bad english is the real reason for my linguistically compressed texts which appear as slogans ...) as a mail artist I often use slogans such as MY SHADOW IS MY GRAFFITI. as the founder of AGGRESSIVE CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL OF ART and I asked: WHO IS AFRAID OF WORD AND SENTENCE?
whenever possible I avoided terms like art or artist instead I used rubber-stamps with lines like BUERO FUER KUENSTLERISCHE UMTRIEBE ( = office for artistic activities) and I' M A NETWORKER (SOMETIMES). I called my works NETWORKINGMATERIAL.
since 1984 I use the term artist to claim independence and individuality: MAIL ART IS NOT FINE ART, IT'S THE ARTIST WHO IS FINE. also at this time I thought about space and the meaning of encounters: AFTER DADAISM, FLUXISM, MAILISM COMES TOURISM. the stamped DAMNED TO BE A TOURIST fits this concept as well.
in 1986 hundreds of networker congregated in WORLDWIDE DECENTRALIZED MAIL-ART AND NETWORKER CONGRESSES in order to practice networking and consider strategies in real and virtual spaces.
in the seventies Xerox machines enabled / challenged us to do networking. in the eighties the creation of networks, without connection to cultural activities, was prevalent. my network experiences led me to create works in the nineties which referenced art history and were made for public spaces and in the context of art.
the online living room project "placeofplaces.com" combines traditional artwork, networking strategies and space awareness. the picture transformed to a sign.
h.r.fricker 31/5/2007
my artistic work as a networker and my works in public spaces had a programmatic and exemplifying trait. I did not write long texts. this might be the reason crackerjack kid called me a "master of minimal communication". (more likely is that my bad english is the real reason for my linguistically compressed texts which appear as slogans ...) as a mail artist I often use slogans such as MY SHADOW IS MY GRAFFITI. as the founder of AGGRESSIVE CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL OF ART and I asked: WHO IS AFRAID OF WORD AND SENTENCE?
whenever possible I avoided terms like art or artist instead I used rubber-stamps with lines like BUERO FUER KUENSTLERISCHE UMTRIEBE ( = office for artistic activities) and I' M A NETWORKER (SOMETIMES). I called my works NETWORKINGMATERIAL.
since 1984 I use the term artist to claim independence and individuality: MAIL ART IS NOT FINE ART, IT'S THE ARTIST WHO IS FINE. also at this time I thought about space and the meaning of encounters: AFTER DADAISM, FLUXISM, MAILISM COMES TOURISM. the stamped DAMNED TO BE A TOURIST fits this concept as well.
in 1986 hundreds of networker congregated in WORLDWIDE DECENTRALIZED MAIL-ART AND NETWORKER CONGRESSES in order to practice networking and consider strategies in real and virtual spaces.
in the seventies Xerox machines enabled / challenged us to do networking. in the eighties the creation of networks, without connection to cultural activities, was prevalent. my network experiences led me to create works in the nineties which referenced art history and were made for public spaces and in the context of art.
the online living room project "placeofplaces.com" combines traditional artwork, networking strategies and space awareness. the picture transformed to a sign.
h.r.fricker 31/5/2007