Johnny Boy : What is different now?

JB : Now you seem to be very active again. Are there any differences in your approach to networking between your activity in the '80s and '90s and now?

RJ : The differences in approach and activity lies mostly in the intergration of Internet in our daily life. The snail-mail is still slow but essential to the mail-art network. It seems the mail-artists that were so against the Internet gradually saw that they can use the new communication-tools to their advantage. A lot of old-times joined in on the IUOMA platform (see: http://iuoma-network.ning.com/ ) that I started only a year ago (on November 13th 2008). Soon it will exist only one year and already it has 710+ members online. Also newcomers that through Internet discover the mail-art network and love the idea of exchanging art from artist to artist. The essence of networking has not really changed. Only projects can be done on different communication-platforms as well. Paper documentations are replaced by digital websites. Magazines are replaced by blogs with more participants. Even my old TAM-Bulletin (with news about mail-art projets that circulated in the 80-ies and 90-ies) is replaced by a blog with mail-art projects (see: http://mailartprojects.blogspot.com/ ) where 96 authors write and publish the mail-art projects. It has 60+ visits each days and distributes the mail-art projects information with only one click worldwide.

Luciana Tamas: TAM and IUOMA?

LT : I understand. Let's return: please tell us about the new TAM-Publications projects and about I.U.O.M.A.

RJ : TAM-Publications started years ago with the publishing of texts about Mail-Art. In the beginning the texts were copies and distributed. In the last years the publications became books which are available online too at e.g. : http://stores.lulu.com/iuoma. The last publication are also available there. New projects are the book that will be published in connection with the IUOMA 1988-2008 celebration in which this Union will be explained again. Texts from some major players in the mail-art network will be published in that book too.

The IUOMA is a conceptual idea. Everybody that wants to become a member of this International Union of Mail-Artists automatically becomes a member just because they ask. The concept has grown into a group of people who say to be a member of the IUOMA. They have their own platform nowadays on: http://iuoma-network.ning.com/ where already 443 members have joined in the last 5 months. These days the old generation of mail-artists that is still alive and active has also access to the Internet and have integrated this communication-form into their art as well.

An Electronic Interview with Ruud Janssen

After The Mail-Interview Project this is a new concept. The answers with illustrations come automatically after the questions are placed. It just seems that there are no question in the first week. Do you have a question for me? Just leave it here in a comment!