IP: What made you want to document interviews with mail artists?

RJ: In the year I started with these mail-interviews I realized I only knew very little details about the people I was communicating with. I have read some interviews others did and decided to go for a search for more information. In the 90-ies also Internet and e-mail was starting to grow. So I made the concept that questions and answers could be sent in any communication-form choosen bij the sender or receiver. That meant some questions were even asked by telephone, and some answers where handed over when I was meeting the interviewed person. The communication-process was part of the mail-interview.

The project itself grew. I started with one interview. And because the time-factor was involved, I had time for starting several interviews simultaneously. It was an intense period of searching for information, but also I realize the documenting of the complete process. First with small interview booklets in small editions where mail-artists could ask for, Later also on websites and in bookform.

The essence was I wanted to gather more information that wasn’t there. I wanted to get the people that I was communicating with and were out there.  I felt I had a shortage of information and needed to will the void with data also for the network.

In the bookforms the newsletter that was made during that period is also published. Lots of information in the mail-interview. Some people outside the network even found it worth wile to write a thesis about the project.