Author Archives: Gerald Jatzek

A Goodie Bag from Hanna

We recently received mail from the USA: a thick envelope containing a plethora of objects. There were drawings [enlarge] as well as photos from magazines. We found a sketch explaining the function of a dredging boat and some of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous anatomical studies. (Unfortunately, not the originals.) The sender was Hanna Marie DeanContinue reading “A Goodie Bag from Hanna”

Eigentum mit Stil

Aktuelle Exlibris im Schriftmuseum Pettenbach Zwischen 1470 und 1490 wollten zwei geistliche Herren ihren Besitz schützen: Der schwäbische Kartäusermönch Hilprand Brandenburg von Biberach und der hessische Vikar Hanns Igler Knabensberger trauten Freunden, die sich Bücher ausborgten, nicht über den Weg. Deshalb versahen sie die wertvollen Bände mit Eigentumsnachweisen und erfanden so das Exlibris. Weil esContinue reading “Eigentum mit Stil”

Adam’s Stamps

US-based mail artist Adam Roussopoulos has “passion for making artistamps”. Two sheets of his stamps reached Vienna two days ago and were well received by Gabriele and Gerald. The black-and-white stamps are accompanied by three text fragments: Now here comes the creative part for our readers. We’d like you to develop your personal interpretations andContinue reading “Adam’s Stamps”

Beautiful Mandolins

Mandolins are not only fun to play; many are real beauties as you can see here. They form an extensive family of instruments with members in places like Italy, Brazil, India, Greece, the Balkans, the British Isles, the USA and others. They exist in a vast number of shapes, sizes and tunings from the piccolo mandolin’s c’Continue reading “Beautiful Mandolins”

The Rabbitfish

This strange animal recently entered the house via the mailbox. The story goes that is has been bred by Melissa Wand from the FLUXfish group within the International Union of Mail-Artists (IUOMA). The other side of the postcard is designed as a spade nine, formed by a school of spade fish. Thank you, Sil, weContinue reading “The Rabbitfish”

Außergewöhnliches aus Köln

Die Kölner Parasitenpresse ist einer der interessantesten Verlage Deutschlands, nicht zuletzt aufgrund der Anthologien mit Texten aus Dänemark, Griechenland oder Lettland. In der Zeitschrift Etcetera Nr. 93 erschienen zwei Besprechungen aktueller Bände. Poetische Vielfalt Adrian Kasnitz ist zunächst einmal Brückenbauer. Mit der Parasitenpresse stellt er übersetzte Lyrik aus zahlreichen Kulturen vor, darunter auch aus sogenanntenContinue reading “Außergewöhnliches aus Köln”

Photos: A familiar Dancer

My grandmother Margaretha Jatzek gave her debut as a dancer at the Vienna Opera at the age of eight. But times got worse, and classical dance was not the most in-demand profession. Therefore, she joined vaudeville shows under her stage name Gred Bassler to make a living in the 1930s. The advertisement poster for theContinue reading “Photos: A familiar Dancer”

A Bag of Quotes, Part 2

What is Mail Art (4) “Well, the idea is that it’s a way to convey a message or a kind of idea to someone which is not verbal; it is not a confrontation of two people It’s an object which is opened in privacy probably and the message is looked at.”Ray Johnson (1968) “The termContinue reading “A Bag of Quotes, Part 2”

Art for Surgeries

Jenny Rowbory is a young British woman who suffers from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord). She has been bed-bound for the last sixteen and a half years. In May 2015, Jenny was also diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. This genetic disorder causes the body to produce faulty collagen. The biggest problem forContinue reading “Art for Surgeries”

Political Art

Words against system’s headaches/ Words for new utopia is the title of an exhibition in Namur. The show was curated by Laurent Wilmet and Anne Gilis for the the Belgian educational movement CEPAG. They state: “Indeed, words are not innocent. Words are not neutral, they are socially situated and criticism of their use, of theirContinue reading “Political Art”

Skurrile Geschichten

Die AG Offene Literatur gibt es seit 1996, und in der Zeit hat sie sich als zentrale literarische Vereinigung in Westösterreich etabliert. Im Gegensatz zum andernorts gepflegten Geniekult hat sie sich von Anfang an als Produktionsgemeinschaft verstanden. In einem Grundsatzpapier von 2021 heißt es: “Im Fokus unserer Publikationen stehen: Solidarität und Offenheit.” Zu den ProjektenContinue reading “Skurrile Geschichten”

Death of a Factory

Raphael Nadolny sent a triptych of photos of the old vodka factory Koneser which means connoisseur in English in the Warsaw district of Old Praga.  The industrial complex was built around 1900 and at times employed more than 400 people. After World War II the premises were acquired by the Warsaw Spirits Industry Polmos which hadContinue reading “Death of a Factory”

By Chance

Melanie Reed from Seattle loves to produce hand-crafted media that reveals the three-dimensional process of its creation. Her excellent paper collages Meeting of Minds and Ship of State II reached me, while I was reading a book about Max Ernst who developed the three-dimensonal techniques grattage (scraping the surface layers of paint) and frottage (incorporating the structuresContinue reading “By Chance”

From Ukraine to Russia

The Arnolfini Archívum’s challenge no. 58 for Mini[e]MailArt is “packages”. And although this motto leaves ample possibilities for artistic interpretations, I felt that the Russian assault on the Ukraine could not be ignored. This is why: Russia’s supreme Leader Vladimir Putin calls the war on Ukraine a “special military operation”. Thus, he continues the traditionContinue reading “From Ukraine to Russia”

Mit Leidenschaft

Den Thomas Nemec kenne ich seit, also das ist gar nicht mehr wahr, wie man in Wien sagt. Getroffen haben wir uns in einem wunderbaren, unterirdischen Etablissement namens Club Hoffnungslos. Das war ein selbstverwaltetes Refugium in der damaligen Ödnis Floridsdorfs, das auch Leute aus der Umgebung anzog, weil in der Brigittenau und der Donaustadt damalsContinue reading “Mit Leidenschaft”