‘React on my sign’ by Piet Franzen and Shozo Shimamoto
About this activity.
From 1 to 30 November 2024, Piet Franzen, artist from Leiden, will posthumously exhibit a mail art work ‘React on my sign’ in the window gallery ‘De Prachtvink’ at the Vinkhuizen shopping centre, Platinalaan 505a, 9743 GZ Groningen.
‘React on my sign’ is a mail art work measuring 21 x 29.7 cm from 1993. Piet Franzen had been an active mail art artist since the 1970s and frequently responded to so-called ‘calls’ and exchange projects. However, he also organised exchanges himself. React on my sign is a project from 1993. Franzen sent dozens of mail art colleagues a three-part card with simple graphic techniques like stamps en linocuts. The recipient was allowed to keep the first part, the second part contained a stamp made by Franzen and on the third part the recipient was asked to give a written response in pencil in his own language. It provided Franzen with a beautiful overview in Spanish, French, German, but also more exotic languages. It also became clear that artists do not like to adhere to rules. Most of them did not just respond with text, but also added stamps or a drawing, such as the Japanese artist Shozo Shimamoto (1928-2013), who was known for his mail art from the Art Unidentified group.
After the project, which Franzen mainly saw as research, the results were included in the SIDAC archive. Franzen sent part of the project to De Prachtvink in March 2024 to see if a reuse of the entries would be possible. Due to Franzen's death in September 2024, it was not possible to further develop the project. As a tribute to the versatile artist, De Prachtvink is exhibiting one of the components of 'React on my sign'.
Piet Franzen (1940-2024) studied art in Haarlem and settled in Leiden in 1995, where he ran his own gallery SIDAC. Since the sixties he was fascinated by the art of FLUXUS. He devoted himself to painting, drawing, collages and mail art. In his projects, the exchange with the public and activist ideas play a major role. His larger works of art have been regularly exhibited in the Randstad, his mail art is included in collections all over the world, including the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. Franzen passed away in his hometown of Leiden in early September 2024.
The window gallery is an exhibition space that can only be viewed from the outside, but then 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The gallery is lit until 23:00.
Every month a new work of art by an artist is exhibited.
Raamgalerie De Prachtvink.
Raamgalerie De Prachtvink is een 24-uurs galerie aan Platinalaan 505a bij Winkelcentrum Vinkhuizen. De galerie heeft als specialiteit internationale mail art.
Location.
Raamgalerie De Prachtvink
Platinalaan 505
9743GZ Groningen
tel 050-2302991
prachtvink.blogspot.com/