A taxomonomy of Une Vie

 

Herman's mail art is bold and beautiful like a trip to the cinema. Those things that happen on a day, in your life, those things that I used to write as a list when I lived in the Kerio Valley (so I would have something to say in my daily letters), those things that might feel inconsequential, a fox, a bird, a tooth, become actors in the story which Herman gathers together in snippets for me to reconstruct. This time I fell joy and wonder, like awakening from a dream, a world where we are maskless, hugging, in cramped spaces.

When I received this I had some friends staying and they wanted to see what it was.  I opened the outer envelope but when I saw the delicate string i exclaimed that I needed to open it later, carefully. Herman had never tied up his mail art in string! A delicate and beautiful touch!

At the moment the fierce heat has abated and I only need to water the polytunnel once a day, but I am this woman. She is one of Herman's photographs of what I imagine is mail art he has sent to others. His panache with juxtaposing the figure with colour and form is always enchanting and i am happy to be a voyeur in these three pieces of sent mail!

Herman tells me that in Amsterdam they have jettisoned their masks.  Here in England we are still more cautious. On the flip side of this icon,  Herman tells me of his father and the letters he wrote and how they make him proud. I was the letter-writer in my family but I treasure the few things I got from my own father. His handwriting can still conjure the man. 

Happy belated birthday, Charlotte!

This is larger than Herman's usual drawing scale and they flap in the wind. I need to make more stamps!  Thank you for a wonderful mailing, as always. I will try not to be a snail in the speed with which I reply!

Hairstyles and Dandelions in Manderley

As a Rebecca, I bask in the characters who share my name.  When I was a kid I was Rebecca of Sunnybrook (farm). Herman has found an iconic Rebecca in this mailing. I don't really look good in brown but I love the style of turn of century Rebecca. As for hats, I LOVE them.

This collage of shapes is also a collage of words, poetry. Read the first line of Rebecca aloud…. it sounds even more magical in french! And Herman summons a corner of Matisse's studio and his big scissors in the way he assembles his shapes.  

As is customary, Herman places an envelope within an envelope, nesting his imagery.  When Herman layesr character over character he develops his stories. This Rebecca was once a child. She has watched children, delighting in them delighting in nature.  Iconic Rebecca gets some nuance, we are all more similar than you might think.

Herman's collages are also a mixture of what is 'real' and what we expect.  The Herman adds a patina of experience.  The sculptures become more unique but also deeper and more universal with the addition of scraps of patterned paper.

Perhaps i am reading something into this, but do you get the feeling that Herman's ink drawing feels trapped, perhaps in a Covid lockdown?

I don't often include notes, but Herman's handwriting is so beautiful I can't resist.  I also enjoy the marks of colour, not to mention the very kind words! 

As ever, Herman's mail art is always a little more beautiful than it translates in scanning. Each collage portaits fells great to hold and i am lost in the texture and pattern.  Thank you, Herman.

 

Quasi una Fantasia - Herman Kamphuis

I'm not sure where my original postal ledger has been put for safe keeping… but I know that I have been trading with Voyageur Postal since at least 2012.  He is very sweet and sends me something special at the start of a new year. this mail has been sitting by my computer for about a week and Ionly just opened it before I scanned it. 

Each time I get mail from Herman , my first impression is that it feels European. Herman works with a particular palette that is like the tubes of paint or the pigments you'd find in a fine art dealer - no imitaion, no fluorescents, terra verte, red oxide, naples yellow.  a refined palette.

Another thing you might not be able to sense is that the papers are different weights, haptic, tactile, and perfectly glued. Herman selects imagery so that we are party to new conversations. He tells stories that never existed but suddenly do.

Herman's mail is like a safety deposit box (see below) full of precious personal items. Similar to a Russian doll, Herman nests imagery and layers it in an exquisite way.

Herman likes to compare and contrast beauty with more awkward motifs. I love his doodles.

I love the enhanced decay  of this piece. 

Herman's mail is like a good book, a beautiful song or a piece of sculpture that weathers beautifully.

 Thanks Herman, Happy New Year, and see you in the post.

Unmasking the Voyageur Postale

Today, in the UK, the government mandated that we all wear masks when going into shops and supermarkets.  You even need to wear a mask while waiting for a fish and chips takeout. I have been wearing my mask since the start of lockdown.  I tried to get Patrick a mask before he travelled to southern Africa and was met with derision at pharmacies. That was in February. Not so much anymore… 

So I have sent a few of my favourite mail artists (who I guessed may not make their own masks or would wear one I made). I sent one of my first masks -a Herman sends me the most delicious mail art and I wanted to say thank you and to imagine what kind of mask he might like to wear. 

I have been mking masked stamps but Herman's mailing response to my mask is on another level - his work always is! 

I got an email from Herman telling me that he would send me a photo wearing my mask. I checked and he has allowed me to post the photo!  Some of us are all over social media and we know what we look like, not Herman.  Seeing Herman in my mask made me content that I had sent a mask to the right person!  

I also sent Herman a big  collage made in lockdown (above).  

This beauty from Herman in reply. 

Herman and I have conversations through mail art. 

The ephemera/ book pages that Herman sends me for inspiration (and they are) have a timeless quality.  Below is a snippet of the letter Herman sent me - his handwriting, his words are visual poetry and equally timeless.

Herman and I have shared some details about our lives over the years of exchanging.  Maybe this is me linking arms with Charlotte.  I'm sure we'd be friends too. Thank you Herman I LOVE this mailing!