YOU KNOW THE WAY TO MAIL-ART PHILATELY

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HE IS THE POSTMAN OF THE GODS. HERMES (ALSO CALLED MERCURIUS) BRINGS THE FIRST MESSAGES TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN "OLYMPOS". WITHOUT STAMPS.>>>

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THE STORIES OF JAMES CHALMERS AND ROWLAND HILL ARE FOREVER CLINCHED TO ONE ANOTHER. BUT THE "BILLETS DE PORT PAYE", AFTER THE IDEA OF ANNE-GENEVIERE DE BOURBON CAME EARLIER. IN 1653.>>>

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DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, KARL SCHWESIG (A GERMAN ARTIST), CREATED HIS OWN "GURS"STAMPS. HE IS BOOKED AS THE VERY FIRST. IN 1941.>>>

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THINGS WENT ON. DONALD EVANS BECAME 12 YEARS OLD AND PRODUCED HIS STAMPS FOR IMAGINARY COUNTRIES. TWO YEARS LATER THERE IS YVES KLEIN TO GLUE HIS BLUE STAMPS. IN 1959.>>>

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ARTISTAMPS BEGIN TO CIRCULATE ON THE FIELD OF THE ARTISTIC ACTION. AT FIRST AS UNIQUE EXAMPLES, LATER ON AS MULTIPLES.>>>

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POSTAL PAINTINGS OF JOEL SMITH AND THE N.Y.C.S. IN 1962.>>>

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YAMFLUG, FLUXPOST, EGOPOST, ZEROPOST IN THE SIXTIES.>>>

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THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES: MORE AND MORE MAIL-ARTISTS AND PHILATELISTS BECO-ME FOND OF ARTISTS'STAMPS.>>>

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TOMORROW THE NINETIES: NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP MAIL-ART / PHILA-TELY WILL APPEAR. E.G. IS THERE A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOTH? THE ANSWERS DEPEND ON WHAT ONE REALLY MEANS WHEN USING THE WORDS "MAIL-ART" OR "PHILATELY". AND IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL PHILATE-LISTS AND PHILATELISTS COLLECTING ARTISTS'STAMPS?>>>

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WHEN PHILATELY IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS THE HOBBY OF COLLECTING POSTAGE STAMPS OR POSTMARKS, THEN IT DOES INJURE MAIL-ART BY GIVING IT THE LABEL OF A HOBBY. THE CONCEPTS OF ART AND HOBBY CAN NEVER BE USED AS SYNONYMS, THEY ARE RATHER THE ANTITHESIS OF EACH OTHER. BUT PHILATELY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH. IT CAN BE SEEN AS THE ART OF COLLECTING. THE ART-FACTOR DEPENDING ON THE INTEN-TIONS, MOTIVES AND CREATIVITY OF THE COLLECTOR.>>>

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A POSITIVE LINK BETWEEN MAIL-ART AND PHILATELY CAN BE FOUND IN THE TEXT "INDI-RECT CORRESPONDENCE", THAT I WROTE IN 1979. IT RESEARCHED ALL POSSIBLE 'INDI-RECT' METHODS ONE CAN USE TO SEND A LETTER (POSTAL ARTICLE) VIA THE OFFICIAL POS-TAL SYSTEM. IT ALSO APPEARED TO BE A FASCINATING STIMULUS FOR BOTH MAIL-ARTISTS AND PHILATELISTS TO SEND AND RECEIVE ENVELOPES WITH RARE STAMPINGS AND FULL OF SURPRISES...>>>

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ANOTHER PROJECT ABLE TO AFFIRM A FAVOURABLE RELATION BETWEEN MAIL-ART AND PHILATELY WAS CALLED "B.T.S." AND WAS SPONSERED BY THE MUNICIPAL MUSEUM OF TIE-NEN (BELGIUM, 1984). IT SHOWED "AEROGRAMMES" PRINTED BY THE POSTAL SERVICES OF MORE THEN 40 COUNTRIES AND TRANSFORMED BY 570 MAIL-ARTISTS.>>>

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AFTER ALL,[1] PHILATELY IS NO MAIL-ART IN DISGUISE. BOTH ARE TWO DIFFERENT KIND OF THINGS. PHILATELY HAS IN THE FIRST PLACE TO DO WITH THE POSTAL SERVICE; MAIL-ART WITH ART. BUT THEY CAN HAVE A COMMON OPERATION ZONE: THE ARTISTS'STAMPS. [2] PHILATELY HAS AN INTRINSIC RELATION WITH (POSTAGE) STAMPS, MAIL-ART DOESN'T. MAIL-ART IS COMMUNICATION-ART AND CAN EVEN FUNCTION WITHOUT THE POSTAL SYS-TEM. THEREFORE - ARTISTS' STAMPS ARE NO "SUBSTITUTE" POSTAGE STAMPS. THEY ARE AN ARTISTIC "MEDIUM", JUST LIKE ARTISTS'BOOKS, BADGES, STICKERS, TICKETS, ETC. [3] PHI-LATELY HAS OFTEN TO DO WITH MONEY (INVESTMENT), MAIL-ART DOESN'T. THE VALUE OF ARTISTS' COMMUNICATION DOES NOT INCREASE BY STICKING AN "EXPENSIVE" STAMP ON IT. THE FINANCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE VALUES ARE NOT THE SAME. BUT AS I ALREADY SAID: IMPORTANT IS WHAT ONE DOES WITH PHILATELY.>>>

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WE KNOW FOR SURE THAT MAIL-ART AND PHILATELY CAN COMMUNICATE - WITH STAMPS!<