PANDEMIC POST: RETROFUTURIST MAIL ART is an exploration of the use of the artistic tradition of mail art to brighten lives in the time of Covid-19. It began as a pilot project of OCAD graduate student Kathryn Cramer, a science fiction editor and collage artist to create art postcards during isolation and mail them to friends, family, and others. It later expanded for the Next 14 Days grant in collaboration with 'Kolab project' bringing designers Sebastian Campos-Möller, Aneesha Kotti, and Gulnar Joshi on board.
The resulting art objects give a visually intense multilayered experience delivered via the world's postal services. Out-of-gamut colours that cannot be represented on computer screens have been used. The postcards are delivered pre-framed in a format that can be hung on the wall. These frames include original art, found art reproductions of antiquarian postcards, and envelopes from recycled magazine pages that contain messages or collage materials for the recipients.
The project also expanded in scope to include 3D-printed components, photo-image transfer techniques, the use of recycled materials, and spray-painting. There was deep engagement with the history and meaning of postcards and their role in the road-side culture.
Background
Initiated during the peak season of the COVID-19 pandemic during April 2020, this project was intended for the benefit and comfort of people who are living in isolation from the outside world. The redefined social relations were unfamiliar and alien to people, especially for immigrants who live far from their home and families in search of better education or living opportunities.
Focus Audience
Artists - art therapy for creators during the pandemic while simultaneously adding to their art portfolios
Receiver - comfort and social engagement for recipients who have been identified from the artists' connections as vulnerable or isolating alone during the pandemic
Idea and Process
To develop an expressive language for the circumstance of self-isolation.
Expand artistic boundaries to the possibilities of mailable 3D gifts through both package design technologies and 3D printing.
Extending the subversive and connective tactics of traditional mail art through 21st-century technologies.
New technologies were integrated into creating art for this project, both the mail as well as packaging material that was durable for overseas shipping. We used 3D printing concepts, experimenting with materials redefining the traditional concept of a postcard.
