Held, John, b. 1947

John Held papers relating to Mail Art, [circa 1960-2006]

9.1 linear ft.

Correspondence with artists, works of art, interviews, and printed material relating to Mail Art compiled by John Held Jr. to create his Modern Realism Archive and Stamp Gallery. Correspondence is from over 5000 artists, and includes exchanges in the Mail Art network over a twenty-five year period, including both theoretical discussions with all major participants in the field, as well as "mail as art" envelopes and collaged postcards decorated with rubberstamps and adorned with artists postage stamps. Also included are 83 sheets of artist postage stamps (Artistamps) by a variety of artists, including Held. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, posters, periodicals and zines, magazines and books. Video interviews are with Clement Greenberg, John Cage, Ray Johnson, and others conducted by Held and an interview with Held regarding Traveling Mail Art. Also found is biographical material on Held including a typewritten journal, travel diaries, essays, and annotated biblographies.

This collection was donated in increments from 1999-2008 by John Held Jr. Additional postcards (mail art) from various artists are expected in 2009.

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