During 1999
one or more networker have disseminated in the mail art network numerous
projects without presumed organizer's
knowledge, promising the documentation to all partecipants.
My presumed
project was "Send me hands" with deadline 31/12/2000.
The fakers
have made a capillary job of direct and indirect diffusion. The invites to the
project with "victim"- address have been published, in good faith, on numerous
snail and email art bulletins. Ulterior element for a secure diffusion of
projects was the long times of expirydate (in my case it was two years).
Therefore I
have receveid and continuous to receive most numerous partecipations on the
topic of hands (about 120 from 20 different countries to the 27/03/2000) with
varied styles and technicals (prints, xero, rubberstamp, collage, photo,
drawing, writing etc.).
Fortunately
for me the "hands" was a topic a lot interesting.
The hand
can be thought like symbol of the contact that the mail art produces between
normally distant creative persons.
The hand is
a basic element of the first artistic expressions and it is present in
different cultural contexts; it is a transversal linguistical element that
joins many figurative universes. For this, the hand can be used with success in
the network.
This fake
project ("Send me hands") has allowed me to know a lot of artists with I
did not have some contacts before. Moreover I maintained a wire directed with
the network in a moment of personal difficulties.
When I have
received the first partecipations to "my fake project" I did not appreciate,
but after I have accepted as mine this project and I have decided to do the
documentation.
Beyond to
this small catalogue, it is possible to see on the web pages of e-zine AH!
(n° 1 April-June 2000) a work for every artist, the list of the partecipants
and some documents of the debate on fake projects.
You are all
invited to visit the AH! pages: you will be able to find the section of mail
art with the first documentation on the fake project "Send me hands",
the section dedicate to email art, web and net art, events on network,
articles, links, a forum and a chat-line.