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Note by Karl Young
As the ultimate art form of the Cold War, it seems appropriate that some
of the largest and most important Mail Art shows focused on the
central Cold War tool, emblem, and driving force. I curated and co-curated
a number of them and participated in many others.
This section links to the documentation of several of the shows I curated
or took part in setting up. I'm not going to write extensively about the
Project in this issue of Big Bridge for several reasons. One important
complex of reasons is that I want to do so in another installment where I will
also be discuss publications by and projects with Japanese poets.
A strictly American response to Hiroshima, or even an international response
that does not include significant portions of Japanese participants and
their culture is irrelevant. With increase in sales of nuclear materials
and the destruction or collapse of safegurards against nuclear weapons,
coupled with the increase in the use of nuclear fuel, the number and
composition of future responses may increase considerably.
Most Shadows Projects ceased after the mid late 1990s, in part because of
loss of energy in the mail art network, and to a larger extent
because many people thought that the nuclear threat was over. In the early
days of 2007, with nuclear proliferation poised to make giant leaps
forward, Shadows Projects may become more important once again. Whatever
your thoughts are on nuclear war, the Shadows Project included some of the
most important and interesting Mail Art shows for several decades.
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