Reply on: 13-4-1995 (VI)

HM: My archive and registry, in the following in short: my archive, including my mail-artistic and non mail-artistic pieces represents as mentioned above my relations within the art-net, especially within the alternative artistic network, the Eternal Network.

Up to now I have not thought about my archive's fate, especially after mydeath. In the moment I cannot imagine that my archive will remain inFrankfurt after my death, because no institution here is interested in mailart, let alone in my archive. But I hope I will live some more years to comedoing mail art in Frankfurt. Perhaps the situation will change.

In any case I can imagine that my archive after my death will a central"mail art house" or "Eternal Net House" somewhere in Germany or inanother country. Some years ago a postal museum of abroad already hasshown interest in my archive. But I have not negotiated with it as I think thatmy archive belongs to me as long as I live as a networker.

To avoid for one's archive the same fate that happened to Ulises Carrión'sarchive one should negotiate with an interested institution in time. As to myarchive I will leave my daughters above all some non mail art works. The restof my archive should stay together.

Before my death I hope my archive will stay with me. But there can happenunfortunate events that can give the archive an unfortunate fate. Forinstance poverty can change all plans. My dreams for the storage of myarchive is a special "Eternal Net House" I mentioned above. May be lateranother better name for this institution will be found.

As part of the network this house should show in an open experimentalframework the self- and foreign-understanding of alternative artisticnetworking, its achievements, possibilities and its claims. It shouldcontribute to the constructions and modeling of mail art culture, networkingculture, as mechanism of survival and at that it should integrate the archivesof the mail artist. The archives shouldn't lose their functions within thenetwork and shouldn't get ends in themselves. The house should show andfunction according to the alternative systemic-evolutive paradigmshift beingobliged to an interconnected, interactive, constructive, cooperative,pluralistic, discoursive, informed rational and thus life-effective, bibliophilicconduct based on experience and viability.

This house should be managed by self-government of networkers fornetworkers including producers (artists, creative individuals), organizers(mediators), onlookers (recipients) and critics (changers). The house shouldfunction according to the aims and rules of networking's culture.

It should support artistic networking separated from economic reasons thuseffecting radical popularity and democratization of art by inviting toparticipate in networking all creative individuals being concerned aboutalternative art through networking.

This house should become a meeting place, home, for the networkers, asymbol of the human task to get a world-wide time-and all other spherestransgressing holistic and interconnected orientation and construction (unity)of the world-views' freedom and openness (variety) by creativity within a"higher form of sociability", always anew (symmetry as flowing balance).

The Eternal Net House should serve for holding awake the mail art culture,to immunize it, by:

1. creating common, communal life-horizons between the individuals withinthe net and by transgressing it to achieve understanding, tolerance andpeaceful living together (creation of simultaneity; network culture'ssynchronic dimension). At that it should serve for interaction,communication, cooperation, reciprocal effects, experiments, co-sensibility,co-fun, combining the past, the presence and the futures' dreams to constructmore complex and richer structures and relations in and for the network.

2. making possible orientation to the past through hindering arbitrarysuppression of past events, informations of the past, so that every mail artistand every generation of mail artists doesn't have to start again from thebeginning (creation of continuity, duration; network culture's diachronicdimension).

3. making possible orientation to the past through hindering involuntarysuppression of past events, informations of the past, by screening off thestoring of the informations about the past (creation of double-timedimension; network culture's double chronic dimension).

These aims could become effected by three functional spheres in the Eternal Net House:

1. Some rooms and their tools (means, media) should serve for interaction andcommunication, like for discussion, shows, performances, readings, music,picture shows, workshops, teaching, intermedial interconnection etc. withinthe house, to other houses, to networkers' homes and studios, to otherinstitutions etc. At all they should not serve for artistic conduct asconsecration within special ideal rooms for isolated introvertedconsideration.

2. Some rooms and tools should serve for the storing of archives andinformations. It should be possible to activate the informations at any timeright away, for instance to allow researching, showing them and working withthem as mentioned above. At that they should not be final stores, finaldeposits, cemeteries of useless artifacts. The archives should be given asgifts from the networkers to the Eternal Net House.

   The bringing together of many networkers' archives in so far leads to aconcentration of mail art works of all periods and all nations and regionsand to the construction of a new common, communal denominator listeningto such different names like style, beauty, mail art respectively networkinghistory, form etc. one could call "aesthetic function". Besides there opens atreasure and source of artistic knowledge and artistic teamwork andinterconnection as heritage to the networkers, yes to mankind that it has notknown till now. Especially the networker faces this stock, takes it in, puts itin order and changes it within the context of his alternative artistic model of totality, networking, mail art. The mail art, networking art kept in archivesgets an "art-historical function", yet "historical function".

3. Some rooms and tools should provide service for visitors and lodging forvisitors from distant places.

All in all the Eternal Net House should integrate itself into its surroundingsand environment, open outward and should make its functions a subject inthe discourse of the net. At that in respect to the fact that mankind andbiosphere are moving to the abyss and in respect to the new paradigmshiftproviding the possibility to avoid the failure of the experiment calledmankind all this has to do with the self-understanding of culture and art andof the human task to enrichen nature by evolving a human culture aiming atan improving living together of mankind as well as the living together of mankind and the other fellow-creatures.

Winners of such a development would be, I think, the networkers, mankind, biosphere, totality. And society as the bigger and more comprehensivenetwork within the network of totality has to sacrifice fancy and money forthe support of the net, especially the Eternal Net Houses too, guaranteeing,however, self-government.

RJ: Your art and also your texts indicate that you have strong believes inenvironmental issues, religion issues, etc.... Where do these believesoriginate from?

Reply on: 28-4-1995 (VII)

HM: The historian Golo Mann, son of the author Thomas Mann, has writtenI think in his world-history: "The separation of the personality from its timebelongs to the sphere of pathology, more simply said, to the sphere ofbiology. The very young person knows not yet anything of its fates' epoch, thevery old person gives up, does not understand anymore the world, as onesays. Only the persons in the middle of their lives have to understand it, forit is their world and there is no other one for them."

Every person standing in the middle of its life wanting not to be separatedfrom its time to avoid becoming a case of pathology has no choice but todeal with the leading thoughts, patterns, of its time. It has to try to find outthe leading thoughts and to try to integrate them in its life, especially if theperson strives to operate, to live, exemplary as an artist too. In the artists'works one always can find a dispute with the actual knowledge of their time.

In my endeavour to take part in life as dealing with reality, world, with allmy doing, including my work, art work and mail art, I came across the socalled paradigmshift already mentioned above as the most outstandingphenomenon, knowledge, of our postmodern time, especially our postmodernsciences. At that I didn't find a comprehensive completed description of theparadigmshift up to now, but only descriptions of an approach to it.

In the end, I think, the paradigmshift deals with new knowledge of systemickind found to rule the evolution of the world, reality. It deals withintersubjective cognitions and communications that organize the humanknowledge and thus the social systems. The paradigmshift replaces the"classic" in the meantime partly destructive world-view of "naive rationalism,functionalism and determinism" saying that world and its acting units, likefor instance man, are similar to machines. It is alternative to the classicworld's model. In so far its main aspects from my point of view are thefollowing (in some respect I mentioned them partly already above in other connections):

• Man for several reasons is not able to perceive an objective reality, world,but he only can construct by cognition and communication a (social) viabilityas reality, always anew.

• The pattern of reality, world, is a model of unity as flowing symmetryconsisting of a big changing variety of complex systems, acting units,interlocked and interconnected. According to the respective viewpoint of theonlooker it begins in the more "material sphere" with the quantum-fields ofelementary particles passing the ecology of biological systems up to theevolution of sociology, economy, art etc. in the more "spiritual sphere".

• All development, evolution, in all spheres of the world's totality is open;there exist no teleology, no right and no wrong from the scientific point ofview.

• The open evolution's process of the relations between the parts, actingunits, systems within every system and within world, is ruled by certainprinciples, especially by autonomy, interconnection, self-reflection, self-organization, spontaneity, multi dimensionality, irreversibility,differentiation, selection, self-similarity.

• During the history science has destroyed every special role of man withinthe universe (so called "insults" of man). In the meantime he has become alittle part of the whole. However because of the combination of his qualities,especially including his very effective "tool rationality" that he uses now asends-in-themselves for egoistic purposes neglecting the whole he has becomethe biggest danger for the world and for himself today.

• In respect to its efficacy all human doing, all cognitions andcommunications, become important for the whole; every man is responsiblefor his and the other's doing as all men together construct world as it is bytheir conduct. Said in another way: Man is unique and indispensable to thecreation and preservation of our world and its (human) values.

• On the base of this new knowledge and independent of the fact that there -scientifically seen - exists no teleology, a new conduct, doing, arises, i.e. anew ethics combined with a new myth: Man has to change himself in his andthe world's interest. He has to over hall his genes' programmes, his genes' andpersonal (individual) egoisms, egocentrisms etc. as end-in-themselves leadingto the abyss. He has to integrate himself, his qualities, doings, i.e. cognitionsand communications, in the whole, he has to interact, communicate and tocoordinate his conduct. At that he has to be easy to get along especially withsociety, the generations to come and ecology. Naive rationalism has tobecome replaced by "enlightened rationalism".

• Presupposition for this change of human conduct is the strengthening of human individual'scognitive autonomy and communicative competence.

• An optimal strategy for successful holistic cognitions and cooperation (by communication)is the intersubjective networking with like-minded persons. It offers its services to find out theviable as (social) reality by interconnected perspectives's changes, always anew.

• A special contribution to this task is the contribution of the artists, the artistic contribution.And a very special contribution in the field of art is the one of the mail artists,the one ofnetworking within the network of mail art.

• A special contribution to this task is the contribution of the artists, the artistic contribution. And a very special contribution in the field of art is the one of the mail artists, the one of networking within the network of mail art.

My respective thoughts I have fixed in essays from time to time. The lastrelevant essay with the theme "The End of Dreamtime?" dates from 1994.

My practical experiences with networking I got by my participation in the netof mail art. Here among other I try to make public my thoughts, including togive impulses for a discourse about paradigmshift too.

My readiness for interconnection, systemic thinking, I guess, reaches back tomy childhood and youth. Base has been my (inherited?) liking for themysterious in all forms, including the religious and the philosophical as wellas the nature's phenomena, I found expressed and could express myself best:by all kinds of fine arts (aesthetic) subjects, making pictures, hearing music,reading. TV has not existed at those times. Especially my parents supportedmy liking to a certain extend. In so far my childhood and youth have beendetermined by something like a mysterious religious-philosophical-artisticunity of emotion.

The first conscious impulses in respect to my systemic thinking and to theparadigmshift I got near the end of the 1980's by the exhibition inDarmstadt (D) named "Symmetrie" (1986) and the musics- and texts-broadcasting-programmes by J.E. Berendt, Germany's Pope of Jazz in thosedays, as well as his respective books having the same titles, namely "NadaBrahma - The world is Sound" and "The Third Ear - The Hearing of theWorld" (about 1988). These two events impressed me deeply and my aimsince then is to get more and more knowledge about systemic-evolutivetheory and the paradigmshift. The problem is to find texts about these topicswritten in a way I can understand.

Up to now the following spheres have been of special meaning for myresearch: Post-classic physics (quantum theory, holoflux respectivelyholomovement, complex theory of relativity, fractals theory, chaos theory,evolution theory, cybernetics etc.), theory of systems (ecology etc.), neuro-physiology, psychobiology, postmodern psychology, theory of cognition andcommunication (radical constructivism, massmedia etc.), postmodernanthropology, theory of postmodern art (giving up the cult of the genius andthe notion of avant-garde etc.) etc.

Besides my research helped me along others to get on with a very special,personal, problem too, namely why I did choose a "rational job in a bank"despite of my artistic liking throughout my life. I learned that every personconsists of different qualities forming an active unit and that there is nobasic contradiction between the different spheres where men are workingand expressing themselves, that all spheres of society are open and can betransformed into a more extensive, more viable, life-effecting form ofsociability and that all things can become a free conscious and responsibleartwork. The challenge is to change tensions into creativity, artistic work,artwork, mail art work, society art.

RJ: What mail art project are you currently doing yourself?

Reply on: 11-05-1995 (VIII)

HM: From 1985 till 1995 I did eight international mail art projects includingseven shows (dispatched 13 times) and one book.

One can divide my projects into three groups:

1. The first group deals with my interest in life, its creative and destructivephenomena. It concerns with questions like: Are you still alive? Why are youstill living? What is your life's aim? What dominates life? What to do tosurvive? The single projects have been: "If still alive, express it to me!"(1985, Frankfurt-Bornheim), ""Where do you find encouragement?" (1987,Eeklo, Belgium), "Where leads the voyage?" (1988-90, Murr near Stuttgart,Frankfurt-City; Schloá Ragny, France), "Who eats whom and why?" (1993/95, Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt, Dresden, Murr near Stuttgart), "Lachen/Laughing" (Book, 1986).

2. The second group works at anniversaries, i.e. at the "importance" of theperson respectively the institution that is celebrating the jubilee for thenetwork, i.e. for the relations, communication, in the network. There havebeen two single projects:
   • "Happy Birthday! - HeMi's 50th birthday" (1988, Frankfurt-Eschersheim)

   • "Happy Birthday! - Frankfurt am Main 1200 years old! Frankfurt-Er-Leben '94" (1994/95, Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Bockenheim, Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen)

3. The third group consists of one project I did together with the Versorgungsamt Heibronn having the theme "The Disabled" (1990/91, Heilbronn).

For the participation in my projects I mostly distributed white sheets ofpaper (DIN-A4) through the net to the mailers stamped with the entreaty tosend back the sheet after interference. As to the project for Frankfurt'sbirthday I called for happy birthday postcards and as to the project I didcooperation with the Versorgungsamt in Heilbronn the media have beenfree. The works are usually shrink-wrapped in clear kitchen-film-strips forexhibition purposes.

The mail art project I did last has been the one for the celebration ofFrankfurt's 1200th birthday. In the moment the happy birthday cards areshown for the third time. After that I will try to make the documentationdespite the chance that the project will be shown some more times.

In my invitation for this last project I wrote among other: "Accordingly bigevents, especially various historical exhibitions, cultural activities andfestivals, will take place in Frankfurt in celebration of its 1200th birthdayduring the whole year 1994. These events will be a challenge in a time ofupheavals expressing - despite the so called technical progress with self-accelerating techniques', informations' and goods' explosions - increasinghuman loss of communicative competence especially entailed with risingdisappearance of self- and world-experience and at the same time withgrowing human catastrophes' productions, e.g. with increasing problems ofecology, of new poverty, of anti-alien feeling, of wars and armed conflictsmore and more in European regions too - and especially for Germany: ofproblems concerning its unity. That's why not least mail art should berepresented in this big birthday-party by an exhibition on this subject givingthe celebrations real world-wide openness, fullness and joy of life andglobal attraction...." And according to this are the works that (still) arrive atmy home. If the onlooker leafs through the hanged up film-strips and getsinvolved in the works then they help to find unusual experiences onewouldn't have made otherwise, i.e. affectionate, critical, surprising, evenrejection provoking in-sights. In short: They help to find adventures. Afterall the project is expression of the dynamic interaction and communicationdemonstrating that in the world: Europe, Germany, Frankfurt am Main arefatefully combined with all spheres of civilization and their human beings asinteraction, i.e. after all blurredly differentiated, as steadily changing partsof the evolving networks: Of the world, of Europe, of Germany, yes ofFrankfurt. The project is manifestation of commonness, participation,fullness of life's signs, greetings from human beings to human beings,fullness of life-efficiency. The works provide for Frankfurt's birthday-celebration real world-wide openness, fullness, life-width, identity, globalattractivity and create emotional community between the ones who getinvolved in the project and get touched by its expressions.

A special concern of one of my contributions, namely of my series of happybirthday-cards sent to myself as a monologue now made public by the shows,expressing that besides dialogues and "multilogues" (discourses) alsomonologues are essential for communication, has been the tactless andunworthy treatment of the invitation and disinvitation to the official birthdaycelebration of the Dalai Lama by the city of Frankfurt. On the picture-sideof my cards I show -partly critical- motives of Frankfurt and on thecorrespondence-side - in reduction - my correspondence with the officialrepresentatives: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Lord Mayor ofFrankfurt, the German Chancellor and the German President as well as withthe Dalai Lama.

My attempt to integrate the project within the official celebrationprogramme was a failure. The answering letter of the Frankfurter ProjekteGmbH, Frankfurt am Main, dated 01-11-1994 says: "We are sorry, but we arenot able to support such a project financially as our budget is spent alreadyby existing projects".

After the conclusion of my preparations for the first show of my project inNeu-Isenburg the artists' group named "Klosterpresse im Karmeliterkloster"and I we noticed that both of us organized separately a mail art project incelebration of Frankfurt's 1200th birthday and we decided to cooperate as tocoming shows. Thus we dispatched both our birthday-projects togetherbeginning with the second show.

In the first show in Neu-Isenburg I dispatched my project together with someof my "extra mail art" collages including own artistamps and with some of myfirst day covers partially created especially for Frankfurt's birthday. I like todemonstrate the reciprocal effects between the mail art net and its productsand the other art-sphere and its creations.

During all shows there have been readings of authors. The opening of theshow in Frankfurt-Bockenheim was combined with the 25 years jubilee ofexistence of the Hessian Authors' Federation including readings aboutFrankfurt. Also there has been jazz-music during the second show. I like itwhen the different arts do meet and mix.

RJ: Do you still answer all the mail art you get or do you select?

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