Part 4

Without many leads, I went back to IUOMA and to the mailing address provided for George Brett posted there. The inactivity on his profile didn’t give me any confidence that I’d be able to get in touch with him. No matter, I sent a letter asking about the show.

Less than a week later I get a response, from someone named Megan Brett, George’s daughter. Unfortunately George “died in February” wrote Megan. She wanted me to let other mail-artists know about this. Although she didn’t have any direct information about the show, she was interested in the project, asking if the “stuff went to Greensboro?” Almost immediately I sent her an email giving her all I knew about the show and providing her a link to the blog I’d set up.

I hope she found comfort in people realizing and appreciating the work that her dad had done. His fingerprints, not only in the artwork he create for the show, but in the effort he put into organizing everything were present.

Two weeks later.

I figured that I would catch back up with the story in a couple weeks once folks responded to some emails and what not. None of that happened. No one could remember anything about the show or give me any context in which it was created. I was annoyed at this for a day or two.

While flipping through the notebook I keep all of my mail-art addresses in, I flipped past a lis of shows I’ve submitted things to. In no way had I represented every single show over the past six years…it wouldn’t be possible. Sometimes I just mail a thing based on a random all-call that someone posted on one of the many mail-art groups on Facebook. My responses have been so numerous that I stopped adding to the list of shows that I’d sent things to.

And there was the story; there isn’t much of a story. I imagine someone had an idea for a mail-art show; they secured a space, and then sent word through the purely analog channels off the mail-art network in 1979. That’s it, there’s nothing else to tell. People sent in things from all over the world. I imagine many people came to look at the artwork (I’d love to find pictures) when it was posted at SECCA. That artwork was then put in a couple of boxes for decades, my friend found the box, held onto it, and then that wonderful box of goodies came into my possession.

Now I have to start scanning it all.

Continuing The Search

I had to figure out a context for the work. I needed to learn more. All of the cards had 1979 postmarks, which gave me some basis for a simple google search. Nothing really came back. I also knew that the show was called SECCA at SECCA. The box came with a wonderful hand-carved stamp reading as much. The only information I found online was from the abovementioned Lomholt Mail Art Archive. The post was the “all call” for the show.

Quickly I went through my mail art book to see if I had corresponded to someone by this name but nothing. I went to IUOMA and found an entry and address for someone by that name. The last activity on the page was from September 2013. My direct message didn’t turn up a response so I decided to go in another direction.

I got in touch with a friend Eddie Garcia, that works for NPR and I thought would have connections to SECCA. He sent an email on my behalf, but as of now, that hasn’t returned anything either. The website was useless, simple searches were useless, and my most promising leads didn’t give me much either. I called on the big guns.

I got in touch with Richard Canard who I thought would know something about the show. I honestly thought he was the guy behind it, but he told me George Brett was probably the point person, even though his return address wasn’t anywhere near Winston-Salem. Much to my surprise he said he didn’t even know about the show even though he’d worked at SECCA in the 1980’s and 90’s. He did see the image of the box sitting in my car and provide me with a nice little bit of information, “That is my handwriting on the box.” So although Richard Canard was directly involved his infamous handwriting was. I love this little tidbit.

I would be lying if I didn’t use this searching process as a way to find out more about mail-art. In a way I see this as a homework assignment, an excuse to ask people that know a lot more about something than I do. It doesn’t help that the history of mail-art is intentionally clouded by half-truths and leg-pulling bullshit, which is partly the reason I enjoy it so much. Since they’re really aren’t gatekeepers to this whole endeavor there isn’t a clear path to know what’s really going on. Thankfully I like a blind adventure.

The Crackerjack Kid remembers that he and George Brett collaborated on something in the mid-1990’s and that George even did a hand stamped portrait of Crackerjack in the early 80’s. As for any other information, he didn’t have any. People enter the mail-art network somehow, and then leave in a similar way.

I decided to write John Held Jr. about the project and he did not disappoint, directing me to a book of his own. John wrote, “I did a book, "Mail Art shows, 1970-1985", which has a listing for "SECCA at SECCA" curated by Richard C. I notice that your materials were given to you by someone else, who I am unfamiliar with. Not sure I can provide you with context for the organization of this particular show, but according to my book there were 75 shows held in 18 countries in 1979. Includes shows curated by Jurgen Olbrich (Germany), Western Front (Canada), Ulises Carrion (Holland), Monty Cantsin (Canada), Julian Blaine (France), Graciela Marx (Argentina), Charlton Burch (USA), Henryk Gakewsly (Poland), Michael Scott (England), and Vittore Baroni (Italy). Maybe this will provide larger context for the SECCA show.”

When I mentioned George Brett, John responded with, “Yes, George Brett was an interesting person. He was very tuned into the network during that time period. Good luck with your research!” The search continues.