Women and Mail Art: Gendered Perspectives on Marginal Artistic Practices

There is extensive research on international contacts, forms of connection and networks among neo-avant-garde artists developed through their artistic production, yet, their gender aspect remains largely ignored. Meanwhile, in the same period, feminist art developed intensively, and many feminist artists participated in international exchanges of neo-avant-garde circles. This workshop seeks to address the participation of women artists in global avant-garde art networks, whose activity remains largely eclipsed by their male counterparts. It concentrates on mail art as a specific art practice but also includes other types of related artworks (DIY publications, artist’s books, experimental visual poetry and concrete poetry) that circulated between artists. This 3-part workshop aims to explore the activities of women artists and the presence of gender/feminist issues in mail art, visual poetry, and art publications. In a series of presentations, we propose to discuss new research on the subject, extend our knowledge of particular artists, artworks and projects and encourage reflection on conceptual frameworks within which we approach alternative practices of women artists.

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/ Program /

Friday, 11 October 2024
I 16.00-19.00 (Bern/Warsaw time)

Panel 1

Introduction

Zanna Gilbert, Getty Research Institute and Elena Shtromberg, University of Utah
Transgresoras exhibition and project.

Alexandra Schoolman, Temple University
Alternative Solidarity Networks in Chile: the Work of Virginia Errázuriz and the Taller de Artes Visuales.

Mela Dávila Freire, Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg
Cruising by the Book – Vaginal Cream Davis’ Queer Publishing

Discussion

Short break (15min)

Marie Meyerding, Technische Universität Dresden
Mail Art and Environmental Activism: Karla Sachse’s Subversive Practice Between State Surveillance and Official Art Production.

Emerse Kürti, Museum of Fine Arts - Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI) Budapest
Personal or Professional? Katalin Ladik’s gendered position in the Yugoslav and international mail-art network.

Discussion
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Friday, 18 October 2024
I 14.00-17.00 (Bern/Warsaw time)
Panel 2

Introduction

Maggie Borowitz, Pennsylvania State University
Exhibiting Micro-Exhibitions: Curating Artists’ Books in the 1980s.

Agata Jakubowska, University of Warsaw
Mirella Bentivoglio and the Circulation of Women’s Visual Poetry.

Discussion

Short break (15min)

Liz Hirsch, Otis College of Art and Design
The Rebirth of Wonder: Linda Frye Burnham, High Performance, and the Art of Correspondence

Ileana Parvu, Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève, HES-SO)
Chance Encounters: The Circulation of Ana Lupas's Works. Discussion

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Friday, 25 October 2024
I 14.00-17.00 (Bern/Warsaw time)
Panel 3

Introduction

Henar Rivière, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
The reproductive work of women as a core metaphor in Graciela Gutiérrez Marx’s Mail Art practice

Rada Georgieva, The Courtauld Institute of Art
A ‘White Fly’ Crossing Space: Mirtha Dermisache’s Asemic Mail Art.

Ine Engels, Ghent University
Between collective and individual expression: Mirtha Dermisache’s handprints.

Discussion

Short break (15 min.)

Jenny Graser, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt – “Like a Spider in a Web”

Gabriela Daris, Kingston University London, Ideas in the Air: Yoko Ono’s Mail Art.

Discussion/Closing

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Registration:
You can register for this event via:
https://unibe-ch.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5YsdeCsrTMpHtwjFiEgghp46PMOQCCIQPM7#/registration

Please contact the event organizers for the flyer, abstracts of the presentations or any questions about the event.