One-Week Mail Art Performance Party in Los Angeles by John Held Jr. (Italicized entries in parenthesis by Al Ackerman) Saturday, April 20, 1991 Left Dallas (Central Time Zone) at 8:30 AM. Change plane at El Paso (Mountain Time Zone), Texas, for Los Angeles. Arrive in Los Angeles at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time Zone). Rent a car. Call Lon Spiegelman's house and get directions from the airport from Mike Mollett, a performance artist, poet and actor who has been living with Lon for about two years. Mike was at one time very active in Mail Art, and initiated a great project sending parts of his VW bus around the world to various Mail Artists. When I get to Spiegelman's house I knock on the door. The door knocks back. I knock again. The door knocks back and then opens. I am handed a note by a person wearing a gorilla mask, a sleeping bag over his shoulders, a white tube sock hanging out of his mouth, barefoot with painted toenails, and carrying a bamboo walking stick that rattles. The note reads: Hello. Come in. I am Elliot, with Mollett's troop THE MUD PEOPLE... I am mute. Spiegelman will be home shortly. Well, I think, this is an unexpected welcome. When I go out to the car to get my bags, I get out a Mexican wrestling mask that I use in performances and put it on to make Elliot and myself more comfortable with each other. While I releax on the couch, Elliot wanders about the house. Shaking his staff. Putting little objects, like driftwood, on my shoulder. About a half-hour later Lon comes home. He tells me Elliot is harmless, not to worry, and that he's been staying there for about a month. We continue talking and catch each other up on things. Elliot hands me a note that says, "Later will you dance for us?" I write back, "I'm a good dancer." Elliot is barefoot with his toenails painted red. They are the most beautiful feet I've ever seen. They are white and look like marble. Finally, Elliot lifts off his mask. It's Al Ackerman. Ackerman and I have been correspondents since the early eighties. I first met Al in 1986, when he came to Dallas from San Antonio to give the Keynote Address at the Southwest USA Worldwide Decentralized Mail Art Congress that I hosted. We've met several times since, and I consider him a mentor, a brilliant writer and painter bordering on the genius level, a friend, and perhaps the very soul of Mail Art (or at the very least, one important strain of Mail Art - it's wild, unpredictable side). Al had been in San Francisco for a month previous to coming to Los Angeles. I guess several of my close correspondents had known he would be coming for my visit. But it was a surprise to me. A happy surprise, for it meant we would be spending a significant amount of time together for the first occaision. Lon, Al and I go to the Galleria to pick up Lon's thirteen year old son Lee, who was getting some mice for his python. Al and I call Darlene Altschul (Tarzanna Savannah). Bill Gaglione calls. He's in town from San Francisco. Lon, Al and I get some burritos at Burrito King. Al shows us his new cat series done with oil stick on valour paper. (He has the most beautiful feet I have ever seen. I dream about them constantly.) Sunday, April 21, 1991 Al and I leave Lon's at 8:00. We have breakfast at the Astro Diner and then go to the Holiday Inn in Burbank for the Rubber Stamp Frenzy rubber stamp convention, where I have rented a booth to sell perforated gummed postage stamp sheets. Al sets out a portfolio of his "Are You Drunk" drawings. Throughout the day he tells passer-bys that the 8x11 inch prints are from carved rubber stamps that are now in the Smithsonian. E. Z. Smith stops by with his friend Mallory Moad. They have come all the way from Fresno. Darlene Altschul (Tarzanna Savannah) also comes. It is the first time I've met this long-time correspondent of mine. Mollett picks up Al at 1:00 to get things ready for a party at Scooter's (Neal Taylor) later in the evening. At 2:00 I give a talk on rubber stamp art. Judy Hoffberg is there as well as Bill Gaglione. While I am talking, C. Steven Short comes in with author Leo Buscaglia, for whom he is the office manager. C. Steven is a new correspondent of mine who now lives in Nevada. Gaglione and I man the booth. Buscaglia and I discuss Mail Art, and he tells me how impressed he is with the strength of the international community it has forged. Lon stops by. Gaglione and I leave around 5:30 for Lon's. I've sold around $100 worth of perforated papers. Gaglione and I drive to Scooters with Lon. Judith Hoffberg, E. Z. Smith, Richard Meade, Mollett, Ackerman, C. Steven Short, Johnny "Oh Boy!" Tostado, Jules Davis, are some of the Mail Artists there. Leave about 11:00. Talk to Ackerman for another hour or so. (Masterbate violently for 2 hours) Monday, April 22, 1991 Get up at 9. Talk to Al and Lon. (Dizzy) Al and I go out for breakfast at Burrito King. Lon goes to the dentist. Spiegelman has ordered all twenty parts of Peter K�stermann's "Endless World Video," which features interviews with Mail Artists he has visited throughout the world. I start to watch these in order and continue to do so throughout the week. Lon, Al and I go to the University of California at Los Angeles where Lon works as a Production Manager for the daily campus newspaper. It is here that Lon has begun working on his first Mail Art project in three years - making logos on the Macintosh for his correspondents. Ackerman and I drive back to Lon's. We talk to Mollett and he practices reading some of Ackerman's poems for a cable TV broadcast. Watch K�stermann's "Endless Video" (H. R. Fricker, Joki, Henning Mittendorf, Pawel Petasz). Postcard from Fa Ga Ga Ga. Ackerman makes a dinner of baked potatoes and beans. Mollett, a gardner by profession, picks "something like spinach" from the backyard for a salad. Mike, Al and I go to the Onyx coffeehouse. Back to Lon's at 11:30. (Masturbate violently for 3 hours. Spend another 2 hours brooding over Minden the Mail Art Mecca. Go to sleep at 4:00 and dream of Ackerman's feet.) Tuesday, April 23, 1991 Wake up sick to my stomach, either from Ackerman's potatoes and beans, or Molllett's "spinach" the night before. Maybe it was just the thought of eating them. Drive to Santa Monica for an appointment at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities. Lad Pugel, a reference intern, brings me out a checklist of the Jean Brown Collection prepared by Eric Vos, a Dutch scholar, who has arranged the Collection. Jean Brown is a dear friend of mine, who I had the pleasure of spending many an hour with at her Shaker Seed House in Tyringham, Massachusettes. Her archive, which was situated in the second story of her home, was designed by Fluxus coordinator George Maciunas. While the Getty acquired her archive chiefly for its Dada, Surrealistic, Situationist, Fluxus and Lettrisme components, Mail Art was an interest of Jean's and formed a major part of her Collection. It couldn't be ignord, and it hasn't been. The Getty has done a remarkable job shaping the Mail Art section into a research series that will be an important access point for scholars in years to come. I spent my time looking at the Robert Filliou, Ray Johnson, and Artist Postage Stamp folders. My own folder had material that I hadn't seen for many years, including the first pieces of correspondence that led me to my Mail Art involvement. From the Getty, I went to talk to Steven Durland, the editor of High Performance magazine, and an old correspondent of mine. Back to Lon's at 5:00. Ackerman, Mollett, Lee Spiegelman and I go out for sushi. Home to watch more of the K�stermann video (Istvan Kantor, John Evans, E. M. Plunkett). Wednesday, April 24, 1991 Al and I go to eat breakfast. Drive to Darlene Altshul's print shop in Tarzana. Drive back to Lon's house. Shower and watch more of "Endless Video" (Pat Fish, Private World) Drive to the Beverly Hills Public Library. Introduce myself to my sponsor Michelle Merrill, who has arranged an exhibit and lecture for me. We view the exhibit in the Fine Arts section where I have curated a display of Mail Art by Los Angeles Mail Artists. The lecture at 7:00 on the history of Mail Art told through publications about the subject attracts a crowd of about 35 that includes Mollett, Ackerman, C. Steven Short, Darlene Altschul, Jesse Edwards, Johnny Tostado, Jules Davis, Judith Hoffberg and Peter Frank. Peter is a friend of mine from New York who is now teaching at Cal State Fullerton, editing Revisions magazine, and reviewing for the L. A. Weekly. Always the busiest man in the artworld. (With the rear of the auditorium in semi-darkness,it took me several minutes to spot him [I was standing on stage at the podium telling the auience about Jasper Johns, the "Father of Mail Art" and needless to say my mind was not on danger but rather on the motel rendezvous I had arranged for later that night out at the My Alibi Courts in deep east L. A.] but when I finally did see him my old bunghole immediately puckered and I felt my hitherto throbbing "love nuts" crawl up inside my craven body cavity and hang there quivering like Gilbert & George [the "Aunt and Uncle of Mail Art"] for there could be no doubt that the hectic-looking figure crawling around on all fours at the back of the auditorium was on an errand of true and gravest dementia, what with the foot-long butcher knife he was gripping between his slavering jaws and the light of homicidal intent shinging in his eyes like the headlights on a Lincoln [the "Fifth President of Mail Art"] Continental.) Nine of us stop at the Manderette Cafe on Beverly Boulevard after the lecture. Drive back to Lon's. Watch "Endless Video" (Achim Schnyder, Marcello Diotallevi, Aloys Ohlmann). Thursday, April 25, 1991 Al and I go to breakfast at the Crest on Hollywood Boulevard. Pick up Lon's photos and get a light fixture for the ultraviolet light tubes, which I will be using in the performance tonight. Back to Lon's. Lon and Michael are there. Lon has a bad toothache from an infected extraction and has stayed home from work. Watch "Endless Video" (Daniel Daligand, E. M. Plunkett, Matty Jankowski, [John Sloan]). Gaglione calls and mentions he is making a Mail Art Bull to commemorte the Sunday Mail Art Party at Scooters. Asks me to consider working on a book with him on rubber stamps. Watch "Endless Video" (Cavellini, Vittore Baroni, Serse Luigetti, Ulli Kattenstroah). Skooter comes over for dinner with Ackerman, Mollett and myself. Lon (drunk and) sick. Go to Raji's, a club on Hollywood Boulevard, at 9:00. Introduced to Elayne Levine, a high school friend of Johnny Tostado, who is assisting me in the performance. Darlene Altshul doesn't show up as planned, so I draft Lorraine Perrotta into the act. She's a Serials Librarian at the Getty Center for the Arts and the Humanities. Mollett, Ackerman, Scooter and Johnny Tostado perform first. My performance is done under ultraviolet light. I spray and squirt Lorraine with invisible rubber stamp ink while Elayne, who is dressed in leather and is heavily tatooed and pierced, whips me. It's supposed to represent the difficulties of creation. I feel like I have a sunburn for several days after. (Over 8 people in the audience!!!) Ackerman, Mollett and I go to Scooters to watch the video of the performance. Back to Lon's at 2:00. Friday, April 26, 1991 Wake up at 9:00. Ackerman and I go to the Crest for breakfast. Al works on a painting for Lon. I go to LACE to check out the performance space. Wander around Little Tokyo. Back to Lon's. Watch "Endless Video" (Gerard Barbot, Buster Cleveland, Skooter, Judith Hoffberg, Mark Bloch, Lon Spiegelman), and the "Window on Gaines Performance Tape." Lon, Al and I go to Tommy's for some cheeseburgers. Call Creative Thing. (Get up in the middle of the night and reread this page. Notice that my handwriting seems to be degenerating? Brain syndrome? Also I am experiencing strong desire to love up a colored man. Having many strange desires. God help me. Ackerman's feet, Ackerman's feet.) Saturday, April 27, 1991 Have breakfast with Ackerman and Mollett at the Crest. Drive to Johnny "Oh Boy" Tostado's house in Burbank. Jules Davis is also there. Johnny shows me his Mail Art workshop. We rubber stamp some perforated gummed sheets I've brought along. Back to Lon's at 2:00. (Through it all I screamed in ecstacy. Can't wait to be whipped tonight. And -who knows?- maybe I can get someone to dip me in a big glass of ice cold gravy, my favorite.) Ackerman and I go for sushi at 6:00. Drive to LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) at 7:00. Performances in the Rough Cuts series organized by Dennis Cooper start at 8:30. Nayland Blake from San Francisco goes first. My peformance is last. Lorraine assists me again. I explain to her beforehand that the performance is based on the idea that the creator is in fact created by his creation. No whipping this time, just the ultraviolet light and invisible rubber stamp ink. We are both in wetsuits and Mexican wrestling masks. Wasn't very pleased with the performance. The audience was a bit raucous for the poetic mood I had in mind. Probably should have had myself whipped again. Seems to be a crowd pleaser, but it misrepresents my intentions. Mollett, Ackerman, Darlene Altshul, Johnny Tostado, Jules Davis, and AC, Lorraine's boyfriend are there. AC is an actor, who appeared in "Twins," among other movies and television programs. We meet at the Pantry afterwards. Home at 1:00. Sunday, April 28, 1991 Al and I go to breakfast. Back to Lon's to get ready for his Los Angeles Mail Art Congress. Festivities start at 1:00. Richard Meade, Rudolph, Creative Thing, Jesse Edwards, Mollett, Skooter, Darlene Altschul, Johnny Tostado, Jules Davis, Gonzola, AC and Lorraine, Lon and Lee Spiegelman, Al Ackerman party till 6:00. Pat Fish arrives from San Francisco with a friend. Fran Rutkovsky calls from Tallahassee, Florida. Full moon comes out. Go to Tommy's for cheeseburgers with Al and Lon. After a week of constant good humor, Al and I get into a big fight about me trying to historify Mail Art, careerism, etc. Lee freaks out. Watch "Endless Video" (Jonas Nekarius, Serge Segay, Rea Nikinova). Al and I work out our problems. Monday, April 29, 1991 I leave for Dallas at 1:00 (Pacific Time Zone). Al gets ready to leave for New York City by bus. Arrive in El Paso at 5:30 (Mountain Time Zone). Back to Dallas at 7:30 (Central Time Zone). Read a weeks worth of mail. Appendix One: Letter to Monty Cantsin from Al Ackerman in David Zack's Crazy Old Poets Magazine, January 1984. "Whatever the impulses may be that cause people to explain themeselves in interviews, my impulses don't work that way; in fact, my impulses all seem to scuttle in pretty much the opposit direction. I took up your questions with the best of intentions in the world but immediately found what I'd known all along, that trying to 'expain' myself, trying to lay everything out in clear, straight-forward, categorical-type terms off a questionaire gives me the same feeling I get at a gallery or when there's political speech-making going on: it fills me with this immense anquished lassitude, is what it does. You don't want me to go around being filled with immense lassitude, do you?" Appendix Two: "Prospect From the Past" by Lon Spiegelman. From Sorbo Rosso #5: Trimestrale d'Arte and Cultura Alternativa. "Somehow mail art bridges the gap of isolation. (But), I also find it troubling that the term 'art' is used in this context of communication. Maybe it should be called 'mail communication', because that is all that art really is, i.e. communication. One need not be an 'artist' in the classical sense to be involved in the communication phenomenon which is termed 'mail art'. It is strictly communication between two parties (the sender and receiver). It is a one to one communication and no one has control or censorship over the pathway. Therein lies the anarchistic, revolutionary aspect of mail communication. It crosses boundaries as ideas fly with the wind." John Held, Jr. |