about such a thing as Mail Art

Hello again Franziska Nice to hear from you. I thought the welter of information I provided last time had frightened you off! Good to see that it did not. A word of advice, though - if that is okay. In Mail Art, reciprocity is all-important; what that means is it is VERY important to respond to EVERYTHING one receives, and to respond as soon as possible. This is how relationships are built; and this how the network itself is constituted; this is how Mail Art itself remains strong. If you are to enter into Mail Artworking, either as a participant or, as in your case, someone who wants to get information from Mail Artists, you must keep the sending and receiving going. If you do not - during busy periods, for instance - you risk Mail Artists losing confidence in you. I, for example, felt as if you had got what you wanted from me - information, starting points - and had not just sent a quick emailed 'thanks'. That would have been enough. Etiquette, or 'netiquette', of that kind is very important. I cannot stress that enough. Mail Artists are generally very kind, giving people; they may literally give you important material, in order to help your study along. It is only right that one acknowledges this in the right way by being thankful. As you become more familiar with the network, you will, I think, see what I mean. Given observance of that, I will be more than happy to help you. I hope you understand that I offer these comments in a friendly, constructive manner, and with professionalism in mind. I haven't been in contact with Michael Lumb for years. I have an address different from the one you used; but I can't send you that without asking Michael first. I will try to contact him; give him your details. Good luck in Belgium. Have a good time. Hope it is productive. I hope you can get a copy of my dissertation. You really must, in fact; as it is a key text for your own literature review. Your tutors will advise you on the importance of thoroughly researching your field, in order to validate your own study. PhDs live or die on this imperative. These days, I make music and artworks. Thanks for asking. Are these Mail Art books familiar to you?: Chuck Welch (ed.), Eternal Network (1995); Crane and Stofflet (eds.), Correspondence Art (1984). If not, they have to be. You must try to get hold of them. Each is very important to your study. Groh has essays in the latter. As far as I know, Groh's PhD had something to do with Mail Art, but wasn't wholly on the subject. In my correspondence with him, I have to say, I found him unhelpful. Henning Mittendorf would be better for you. He is based in Frankfurt, last time I contact him. Keep in touch Best wishes Anthony ----- Original Message ----- From: F B To: Anthony Donovan Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 11:04 AM Subject: Re: Mail Art PhD Hello Anthony, thank you for your answer. I had a lot of work to do in the last weeks, but today I take the time to answer you. I downloaded the work of Michael Lumb several months ago, but for it is without pictures and footnotes I wrote him, if I could get the whole work. Unfortunatly the letter came back, I used the adress on Ruud Janssens page: M. Lumb, 39 Alexandra Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 2RL, England. Do you have his latest adress (or his e-mail adress)? I would like to contact him. In April I will go to Belgium to the 18th Independence Art Festival, Sztuka Fabryka is organising. I found your book in the National Libery and I hope I can get it here in germany somehow. I think, I will contact Klaus Groh, I didn't know, that he did his doctor on Mail Art.
What are you doing now, after you finished your PhD? I send you the best wishes and hope to hear from you. Franziska**********Telefonieren Sie ohne weitere Kosten mit Ihren Freunden von PC zu PC!Jetzt Yahoo! Messenger installieren! No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG Free Edition.Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.3/254 - Release Date: 08/02/2006