Postcard Perspectives: Connecting Artists Globally ARTSPACE at Untitled 1 NE 3rd Street Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, USA
Exhibition: Nov 16 – Dec 28 2019 750 artists from 33 countries
Australian artist, Eleanor Gates-Stuart, exhibited four paintings in a group exhibition ‘Postcard Perspectives’ at ARTSPACE at Untitled, USA., November 16 – December 28, 2019. The artwork entries: (no. 03147-03150) ‘Where else’; ‘Missing You’; ‘New life’; ‘Make a difference’, were a response to an international open call for artworks to be presented on postcards, the exhibition curator’s aim to connect artists globally through an online web presence as well the artworks shown in the ARTSPACE at Untitled Gallery. The exhibition builds on the renown artistic movement of postal art / mail art with the ‘Postcard Perspectives’ (ARTSPACE) project following this tradition through exhibiting this inaugural international artists collaboration. ARTSPACE at Untitled is an art center in the Deep Deuce district of downtown Oklahoma City with over 20 years in Oklahoma City providing educational opportunities through contemporary art and creative programming.
The Postcard Paintings:
03147: Gates-Stuart. E, ‘Where else’, Mixed media: acrylic, ink, graphite and wax on paper (2019)
So bright, so light, such colour The warmth, the heat, the dryness Such rain, no rain, please rain Yes I like it – where else?
03148: Gates-Stuart. E, ‘Missing you’, Mixed media: acrylic, ink, graphite and wax on paper (2019)
Two years and feeling so homesick Just the four of us with friends On the other side of the country Missing you so much, new friends
03149: Gates-Stuart. E, ‘New life’, Mixed media: acrylic, ink, graphite and wax on paper (2019)
We arrived in Australia in 2001 With two children and a dog to follow This was a one-way ticket, no ties Well some, but the start of a new life
03150: Gates-Stuart. E, ‘Make a difference’, Mixed media: acrylic, ink, graphite and wax on paper (2019)
So exciting and yet so different I came here to add my Skill, make a difference, and Yet you are still holding me back
These new artworks: ‘Where else’; ‘Missing You’; ‘New life’; ‘Make a difference’, through the opportunity of the mail art project ‘Postcard Perspectives’ extended the works as a collaborative mechanism for observing the collation of visual messages, artworks having travelled through a postal service in transferring visual information, and since, curated through ARTSPACE as a vast exhibition, a myriad spectacular of international artists works devoid of any hierarchical structure. The use of grids in observing information, in particular, embedding information (layers) within my research, is often fundamental to the process of my production and this curatorial approach of capturing wide-scope collaboration to call, connectivity and the delivery of endless styles and artists is limitless.
Image: Gates-Stuart, Reverse side of Painting – postcard (Personal details omitted)
The concept of using finger printing / finger marks in exposing identity is a recurring theme within my research. The use of visual metaphors and embedding information have been methods to construct layers of knowledge through irregular grids of fingerprints and mark making, questioning traits of personality characteristics as a system of recognition. Earlier works focused on digital assets (scanned marks) in creating compositions, however, these works: ‘Where else’; ‘Missing You’; ‘New life’; ‘Make a difference’ have a unique immediacy in the direct application of materials, hand and mark to paper. The components are now fixed, locked in a lucrative mesh of textural surface challenging albeit tempting to scratch at the surface, to uncover hidden text and meaning. Such clues; layers of information mimic ‘FingerCodes’, however, these works are raw in the sense of personalised stories, evident as transcript, snippets of journal, thoughts and memories.
These works establish a new practical method for creating paintings relating to identity and non-liner storytelling, as the aesthetic juxtapositioning of elements and textures form a unique compositional framework.
The ‘Postcard Perspectives’ at ARTSPACE at Untitled was exhibited November 16 – December 28, 2019.
It included 33 countries participating with 7 artists from Australia.
Photographs: ‘Postcard Perspectives: Connecting Artists Globally’, Gallery: ARTSPACE at Untitled
Postcard Perspectives: Connecting Artists Globally ARTSPACE at Untitled, 1 NE 3rd Street Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104 USA Event Photographs by: Evan Beasley, Angelika Sowaka, AJ Stegall, Mel Willis Middle lower row: ‘4 artworks’ – photograph by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
ARTSPACE at Untitled is excited to debut the exhibition of Postcard Perspectives. This project features thousands of original artworks on 5X7 postcards by 750 artists from 33 countries and 29 of the United States. This collaborative mail art project represents an inspired dialogue, transcending cultural differences through creative mediums.
Mail art is a populist artistic movement centered on sending small scale works through the postal service, and is also known as postal art or correspondence art. It initially developed in the New York Correspondence School in the 1950s and has since developed into a global art movement. Mail artists appreciate interconnection with other artists. Traditionally, the art form promoted an egalitarian way of creating that frequently circumvents official art distribution and approval systems such as the art market, museums, and galleries. Artists working in this way, rely on their alternative networks as the primary way of sharing their work, rather than being dependent on the ability to locate and secure exhibition space.
As a community art center, ARTSPACE at Untitled chose to embrace and give homage to this art movement that is centered around collaboration and exchanging international dialog. An important portion of this display is the additional packaging and letters received from around the world, because this correspondence is equally as important as the original artwork onthe postcards themselves.
The planning of this large-scale project started in February of 2019 by printing thousands of blank postcards with information and deadlines on the automatic Heidelberg press in our letterpress studio. These postcards were distributed around the world through a successful social media campaign, and we distributed all requested cards. Considering this is the inaugural exhibition of Postcard Perspectives, the community interest and subsequent results have exceeded expectations.
eleanorgatestuart 