> contents / the Mail-Art movement and its democratic principles - part 1 / Sztuka Fabryka /

There is a tendency that manifested itself after the Renaissance, but only since the Second World War has been transformed into dangerous forms, to terrorise humankind. This is the oppression of life and feelings through the object: concretely, oppression of life and feelings through money and material possessions. This is the fault of the extension of scientific knowledge.

This knowledge is nothing else than the abstraction of nature. To make this knowledge universal and true for everybody the scientists exclude the subjective look on the nature of life. In other words, human feelings get excluded from nature. After the Second World War this knowledge was transformed into a giant machine-park and a system of production and consumption which now dominates the human individual. In this immense system the human is reduced to a part, he does not control the machines any longer. Human beings are reduced to a tool of the machines. It has become impossible to know the whole scientific knowledge and thus the human being is alienated gradually from the world that he created for himself, a world where there is no place any more for subjective feelings and where the mere quantity of material possessions is taken as the standard for a happy man.

But what is the Postal Network? The Network is a group that consists of different individuals, every individual defining the quality of the network. Every individual can practise his creativity without any inhibitions; his ideas will be appreciated. This group does not recognise any hierarchy or dominant individual and exists on a free voluntary basis, therefore it is a democratic base for action that binds the groups, an action of communication via art.

The postal system plays a part, if it does not inhibit the creativity of the individual by the regulations of the system. We can say that art is a kind of expression of feelings. The artists are free from the material world. They can be what they really are, human beings, not dominated by any institution where feelings do not exist.

> the Mail-Art movement and its democratic principles - part 2

We all know that money killed the true feeling of art. I am always writing/talking about art and feelings. Is it not that when we look, for example, at a painting, this painting gives us a kind of feeling? This feeling varies from painting to painting. For some years the money world has taken over the art world. I have already explained that these are different worlds, the world of money and the world of subjective feelings. The collision of these can produce dangerous consequences.

Nowadays in the art world enormous amounts of money move about, and art is only accessible to a money elite. There is often a great amount of money in sponsoring, which is now often needed. These sponsors want to use their influence more and more, not only for a festival , but with the artist himself. He has become a slave of their money.

The artist may not be creative or express his feelings, but must bring in money.

The concentration of money in great multinationals also brings more and more censorship. If it does not suit the multis then this book will not be published or that record not be brought out. They don't want quality but quantity. A greater danger is that they use their power also in the media, they control the complete information service around the world, and they can change things when they want. This may be the end of democracy!

In regard to all this, the Network must take a defensive point of view. It must become a widespread network with a lot of possibilities in the audio-visual domain, and make more use of new technological development and be an independent movement not controlled by any institution, government or multi but by the artist himself.

Copyright by Sztuka Fabryka