A R T S T A M P . D K

MAIL ART

William Anthony (1934-2022)  was challenged in 2009 by Sam Jedig, artist and founder of Artstamp, to participate in a remarkable and ongoing artistic exchange. The challenge involved sending decorated envelopes, filled with creative elements, as a continuous act until his death in 2022. This project became a deeply personal and artistic commitment, where Anthony used the envelopes as a medium to explore his universe and artistic visions.

Each envelope reflected Anthony’s unique visual language, combining his own illustrations, collages, and humorous commentary with the Artstamp series, which was central to the project. Artstamp served as an artistic platform for stamps created by various artists, and Anthony’s work often drew on this diversity by integrating both his own prints and contributions from others. The result was a dialogue between artistic expressions that transcended the traditional envelope format, transforming it into an artistic arena.

Over the years, the exchange between Anthony and Jedig became a kind of living art archive, documenting both personal moments and broader artistic exploration. The project grew into a significant collection of envelopes, which today stands as a testament to Anthony’s dedication to mail art and his ability to create works that connected the intimate with the global. The envelopes also reflect the passage of time, stretching over more than a decade and marking an artistic journey that concluded with his death in 2022.

This exchange is not only a testament to Anthony’s creative commitment but also a tribute to the core principle of the mail art movement: to communicate and connect people through art across borders, media, and formats.

Sam Jedig’s mail art envelopes are a remarkable facet of his artistic legacy, closely tied to his creation of Artstamp in 2007. These envelopes embody Jedig's experimentation with the boundaries of art and communication. Over the years, he sent nearly 4,000 envelopes to himself, incorporating elements of his artistic practice, Artstamps, and contributions from artist colleagues he collaborated with across two decades. This collection spans 20 countries, reflecting the international reach and conceptual depth of his work.

Artstamp, founded as part of the Stalke Out Of Space Cube projects, is a playful yet critical reimagining of the traditional postage stamp. It challenges the role of stamps as symbols of authority and propaganda by transforming them into miniature artworks that engage viewers with societal, political, and cultural reflections. The Artstamp initiative explores themes ranging from national identity to contemporary power dynamics, offering a lens into Jedig’s interest in blending art with everyday life. The stamps themselves, often issued in limited editions, serve both as independent pieces and as components of a broader collective project, illustrating his fascination with mail art’s ability to connect people and disrupt expectations in subtle, meaningful ways.

Jedig’s mail art is particularly relevant in the context of the waning use of traditional postal systems in an increasingly digital world. His works evoke nostalgia while critically engaging with the medium's history and potential for storytelling. The archive of his envelopes, seen as a major contribution to Denmark’s mail art history, highlights the creative possibilities that arise when art intersects with the mundane, celebrating both the ephemeral and the tangible in a rapidly evolving cultural landscape.

Selected from 2015-2024