Bern Porter mail art collection, 1953-1992 (bulk 1978-1992), bulk 1978-1992

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Summary

Creators:

Random, S. (Steven), 1954-, Saunders, Robert, Olbrich, Jürgen O., Spiegelman, Lon, VooDoo, Michael, Welch, Chuck, 1948-, Winkler, Chris, Yager, Jay, Cole, David, 1939-2000, Craigie, Peter M., Finlay, Eric, Held, John, 1947-, Porter, Bern, 1911-2004, Pyros, John, Cantsin, Monty, Bloch, Mark, 1956-, Baroni, Vittore, Altemus, Reed, and Pittore, Carlo

Abstract:

American physicist, poet, publisher, editor of artists' books, illustrator and mail artist. Collection consists of five collections of mail art preserved by Porter from his own accumulation and those of fellow mail artists John Pyros, Carlo Pittore (née Charles Stanley), Robert Saunders, and Jay Yager.

Extent:

19.25 Linear Feet (39 boxes, 1 flat file folder)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

Bern Porter mail art collection 1953-1992 (bulk 978-1992), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 900270.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa900270

Background

Scope and content:

Five collections of mail art are gathered in this archive by Bern Porter from his own collection (sometimes sent c/o his Institute for Advanced Thinking) and those of fellow mail artists John Pyros (c/o the Epistolary Stud Farm), Carlo Pittore (né Charles Stanley), Robert Saunders and Jay Yager. Highlights of the collection are the original contributions sent to Pryos, Saunders and Yager for inclusion in mail art exhibitions they curated. Also noteworthy are letters sent to Pittore, Pyros and Saunders, which often mention the mail art network and the work and personal life of the corresponding artist.

Each series is arranged alphabetically by artist with folders of notices and invitations to participate in mail art exhibitions and projects filed chronologically at the end. Many of the corresponding artists, who hail from countries throughout the world, are located in more than one series. Artists represented include Reed Altemus, Vittore Baroni, Mark Bloch, Monte Cantsin, David Cole, Peter M. Craigie, Eric Finlay, John Held, Jürgen Olbrich, Steve Random, Lon Spiegelman, Michael VooDoo, Chuck Welch and Chris Winkler.

Biographical / historical:

Bern Porter was born Bernard Harden Porter on February 14, 1911 in Porter Settlement, Maine. Schooled in physics, Porter contributed to the Manhattan Project until 1945 when he quit shortly after he published Henry Miller's Murder the Murderer, an anti-war tract. Disillusioned by the misapplication of scientific potential, Porter began to express himself through a fusion of science and art. In 1959, he established the Institute for Advanced Thinking to encourage freelance physicists to develop ideas that combine physics and the humanities.

Porter is one of the founders of the mail art network, sending visual poetry, letters, one-of-a-kind postcards and altered images to international correspondents as early as the 1950s. He has participated in many mail art exhibitions and also maintains an extensive literary career. To date he has written over 80 books and published over 400.

Acquisition information:

Received 1990 (accn no. 900270), 1993 (accn. no. 930011), 1997 (accn. no. 970070).

Processing information:

Ladislay Pugel, Special Collections Intern from October 1990-June 1991, processed and cataloged the first shipment. Materials from the Pittore, Yager and Saunders collections were separated from the archive. All three collections received an accession-level catalog record, but were not processed. Rebecca Markman alphabetized some items from the 1993 supplement, which comprises the bulk of the archive. From April to September 1998, Lynda Bunting reintegrated the Pittore, Yager and Saunders collections, reprocessed the entire collection and wrote the finding aid.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized in six series: Series I. Bern Porter collection, 1973-1992; Series II. Carlo Pittore collection, 1969-1992; Series III. John Pyros collection, 1953-1992; Series IV. Robert Saunders collection, 1976-1991; Series V. Jay Yager collection, 1982; Series VI. Unidentified addressee, 1969-1992.

Physical location:

Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.

Rules or conventions:

archives, personal papers, and manuscripts

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Copy art
Rubber stamp art
Alternative publications
Mail art
Postcards
Announcements

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.