Friday, June 04, 2004

Traces of Errata and Schizophrenia

Weirdness accumulates just like doghair on my stairs.

Another card from Roy Arenella, sent out probably on June 2nd saying he was heading to Albany (where my work is) that very day. He also explained—so I correct myself—that “L+E” in his system of documentation means “letter & enclosure” (not “letter & envelope” as I had supposed).

This photocard’s visual poem is “Initial Traces,” originally created on 18 March 2004. On a white background that shows black sprocket holes is scratched the word TRACE, with a small s surreptitiously scratched into a thin black edge.

This postcard is Roy’s 219th mailart mailing of the year, which means he’s mailing out an average of more than one piece every day. Quite prodigious. A few words from Roy’s message: “Your blog stroboscopically fractures the normal exchange of mail by inserting another dimension (a new “fold”) of TIME, inducing a kind of schizophrenia into the accepted idea of letter distance.”

I’m sending nothing out to Roy or any other mailart folk for a little while. I’m working on a piece entitled “ON THIS SITE” in an edition of 27. The main text of the piece I have to impress into metal one letter at a time, so it will take me a while. Also, I smashed my left thumb today while dismantling a jungle gym with my son Tim. I need to use my thumb to hold the metal die while I’m stamping the metal, and I don’t think I’ll enjoy the throbbing pain of hammering over that thumb.

Mailings may be delayed.

un violon d’ingres

No comments: