Metropolis of Destructon

Back At It!

2008-10-24T17:53:00.009-04:00

Apologies to all that have been waiting to see their contributions posted here at the M.o.D. Blog. After having done the move to the new local I had become completely absorbed with other artistic endeavours and had little to no time to post. In addition to time constraints my dinosaur of a PowerMac decided to give up the ghost, slowly. Making the process very difficult. But I'm back at it...

Some cool things transpired in: M.o.D. Contributions have been steady and I have been producing responses, all will be sent out shortly (soon as I get them documented and posted). One notable contribution, from Robert Joy, has inspired me to produce M.o.D. coins and these will be sent out to all that have participated and to future contributors.

Money of Destructon
Robert Joy, Ellinwood KS

The notion of using beer caps as a currency is an interesting concept to consider. I like it on two basic principals; the first being that it reflects an honest social behavior that brings with it the co-mingling of cultures and the the exchange of information from a diverse group of people. The second being that the beer cap itself is a commodity of no other usefulness, therefor devoid of further corporate or government determination.

Obviously there is no way that it would work in practice, but fictionally speaking, it could be an interesting exercise. The opportunity for potential anarchy on a massive scale one one hand and empowerment on an intimate level presents plenty creative venues to explore.

What with the carte blanche license that central banks such as the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada (and the like) have to print money - then why not explore, in contrast, the idea of private citizens creating their own localized 'lender of last resort' and determinining a fiat currency to resolve monitery issues at a community level?

Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

Reference video:
Fiat Empire: Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution, 59min 2006
The Truth About the Federal Reserve System, 42min 1996
History of the Federal Reserve (Money Masters), 216min 1995

Peter Dowker, Quebec Canada

2008-07-21T00:35:00.004-04:00

The Party's over..., 2008
modified postcard with rubber stamp, acrylic paint and scratches
4" x 6"

au verso

additional postcard with modifications and rubber stamps on reverse

Nature will always find a way to take it back.
-Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

Matthew Murray, Vancouver Canada

2008-07-21T00:28:00.003-04:00

City in Decay, 2008
modified postcard with fire, ballpoint pen and tape
4" x 6"

David Berube, New York USA

2008-07-20T23:51:00.005-04:00

On the reverse side David Berube writes:

"This creature is a hybrid created by toxic waste combining with insect larvae & hatching in the pods of the insanitateous vinus plant. This creature, although harmless looking, will engulf it's victim with it's vine-like appendages & strangle to death it's prey."

Now that's a cold embrace!
-Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General, MoD

Insanitateous vinus plant, 2008
Lino block print, collage and perforations on recycled card
4" x 6"

Josh Ronsen, Texas USA

2008-07-20T23:46:00.003-04:00

Proposal for Luxury Apartment Building, 2008
ink jet on card
4" x 6"

Karen L. Chew, California USA

2008-07-20T23:38:00.003-04:00

Venice Rising, 2008

collage and letraset
7" x 5"

Roland Halbritter, Germany

2008-07-20T19:25:00.006-04:00

Metropolis 9/11

collage, rubber stamp and drawings on old handwritten card board
8" x 5"

au verso

John M. Bennett, Columbus OH, USA

2008-07-16T09:21:00.004-04:00

From the Library of Destructon

Fabio Sassi, Bologna Italy

2008-07-01T05:00:00.006-04:00

Fabio Sassi, 2008

spray paint, stencil/resist & rubber stamp
4 1/4" x 5 3/4"

au verso

Daniel de Culla, Spain

2008-07-01T04:36:00.006-04:00

Information is a control mechanism when distributed by the few, but shared freely it is a form of enlightenment. This correspondence has fallen victim to the prior.
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

Collaborative improve, 2008
Daniel de Culla & Ian-Patrick McAllister
colour photo copy and collage
11" x 8 1/2"

Beatriz Albuquerque,

2008-06-30T13:26:00.006-04:00

Both accident and chance have left their mark on this piece!

Beatriz Albuquerque, 2008
collage and ball point pen
5 1/2" x 5"

au verso

Reply to Judy Skolnick

2008-06-29T17:30:00.006-04:00

Destructon Cityscape, 2008
india ink, watercolour, rubber stamp & perforations
6" x 4 1/2"

Judy-
Your stylized depiction of the droves of forgotten denizens living amongst the waste management systems below Destructon is simple and yet powerfully illustrative of the unspoken reality. These people bare the weight of an entire industrialized Metropolis on their backs, hidden away below the surface toiling amongst the roots and arteries that sustain the gleaming towers above, without reward.
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

Judy Skolnick, Washington DC, USA

2008-06-29T14:11:00.004-04:00

Underground Labrinth, 2008
coloured marker on card
4" x 6"

Roxxanne Clark, Louisville KY, USA

2008-06-29T13:56:00.006-04:00

Roxanne Clark, Word on the Street 2008
collage and acrylic paint
4" x 6"

au verso

Click pic to enlarge & view.

John M. Bennett, Columbus OH, USA

2008-06-26T22:58:00.008-04:00

Received this envelop with a marker sketch on the front, containing some destroyed buildings, cityscapes and text. The visual poem is a wonderful piece that has the effect of strobing vivid images of the urban environment in my mind.

Try repeat reading 3 to 5 times

collaboration, 2008
John M. Bennett and Sheila E. Murphy

collaboration, 04/23/2008
John M. Bennett and Musicmaster

John M. Bennett, 2008

Collaborator links:

Sheila E. Murphy, visual poet: Wikipedia

Kieth A. Buchholz, St. Louis, Mo USA

2008-06-26T21:49:00.003-04:00

Social Club circa 1947
inkjet and marker
5 1/2" x 4"

Marie Marcano, Surfside Florida USA

2008-06-26T14:16:00.003-04:00

Marie Marcano, 2008
sumi ink on paper
4 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Reply to Schoko, Berlin Germany

2008-06-24T22:33:00.005-04:00

Schoko-
Thank you, if you ever have the opportunity to visit look me up. I'll give you a tour. If you look deeply into this Metropolis it will reveal a truth that will chill the blood. The city is an abstract concept, beyond physicality, time and place. It is without subject matter, without memory. The city is absence in as much.

-Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

absence is as much, 2008

india ink, rubber stamp, typewriter & collage
4" x 6"

John Held Jr., San Francisco, California USA

2008-06-24T13:29:00.015-04:00

Received this wonderful rubber stamped envelop filled with goodies today. Some ATCs, an archival document of "Mail Art Island in Brain Cell Ocean" 2001, and a sheet of artistamps that I am seriously considering adding to and sending them out affixed to M.o.D replies.

It's been a very long time since I could actually get away from my work at the Post Office, but last vacation I took some eons ago was to Fluxus Island in Décollage Ocean. Fishing and swimming was great off of Ginger Island, you just had to look out for ubu sharks!
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

ATCs:

top: Tim Mancusi
bottom: John Held Jr.

Artistamp: John Held Jr. 2008
oil pastel & crayon on postage paper
11" x 8 1/2"

REFERENCE:

Mail Art Island in Brain Cell Ocean: A Korean Travel Diary, John Held Jr. Jeju Travel Diary

Mail Art Island in Brain Cell Ocean: A Korean Travel Diary: John Held Jr. Part II

Reproduction: Nam June Paik, "Décollage 4/63", 1963

Sassu Antonio, Gruppo Sinestetico - Italy

2008-06-23T14:25:00.003-04:00

Architecture project future, 2008
stickers, pen, marker and rubber stamp
4" x 6"

Matt Dalby, Manchester UK

2008-06-23T14:04:00.004-04:00

Matt Dalby, 2008
coloured pencil and pen
5 1/2" x 3 1/2" ea.

Reply to Clemente, Montevideo Uruguay

2008-06-23T01:40:00.003-04:00

Clemente-
The 'high price of fame' indeed. After the massive collapse of the Corporate superstructure following the Energy Independence Wars only a few corporations where left to flourish within their respective industries. Now our choices are few and the control over our needs are great.
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

Over looking the Miscanthanol refineries, 2008
pen & ink w/ rubber stamp
4" x 6"

REFERENCE
1. Oil Wars; Ismael Hossein-Zadeh
2. Cellulosic Ethanol: Fuel of the Future?
3. How to Beat the High Cost of Gasoline. Forever!
4. Miscanthus x giganteus - as an energy crop - Research at the University of Illinois

Roxanne Clark, Louisville KY, USA

2008-06-19T23:48:00.007-04:00

click pic to enlarge, and read

Word on the street, 2008
collage and wax crayon
6" x 4"

Rag-
The V-eights and other grow-op gangs have become very active in Destructon. Many of the average working class wouldn't even know what fruit and veg tastes like if not for their efforts. And they do it with great risk. Penalties are extreme even for possession of hydro-kits, in some cases it can be a life term of Civil Labour Camp. Corporate run police agencies like Epipharm's gendarmerie H.I.U.* use high tech equipment to detect off gassing from fertilizers used in hydro gardens. The very real threat is the increase and popularity of IVbars and mainline juicing!
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

* Hydroponic Intervention Unit

Metropolis of Destructon topograph, 2008
pen & ink with rubber stamp and perforations
4 1/2" x 6"

REFERENCE
1. Japan Today: Intravenous Vitamin Mix Bar Alleviate Stress, Aging

2. Tenteki10, Drop-in IV drip therapy

Schoko Casana Rosso, Berlin Germany

2008-06-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

Schoko Casana Rosso Mildbrandt, 2008
Lost City, People get lost!
pen & ink w/ watercolour
4" x 6"

Reply to Homeless Man

2008-06-18T16:10:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I go too far, but too far isn't far enough ...sometimes!
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

never odd or even, 2008
india ink, rubber stamp & collage
4" x 6"

Clemente, Montevideo Uruguay

2008-06-18T13:53:00.000-04:00

Clemente Padin, 2008
photocopy, letraset and stickers
6" x 4"

Portraits from Destructon: Freight Yards

2008-06-18T02:09:00.001-04:00

An unnamed homeless man of Destructon sends his thoughts:

Roxanne Clark, Louisville KY, 2008
acrylic paint and collage
4" x 6"

Au verso:
" Some find themselves running away from things ...others are running towards something ...know what I mean? I don't think there's anywhere to run ..."

His hopeless situation is closed with the expletive, "Got any CRPs*?"

*CRPs (Civilian Ration Packets): government controlled nutrient enriched food supplements that are obtained with a prescription from a certified nutritionist of Destructon.

Portraits from Destructon: Freight Yards

2008-06-18T02:00:00.000-04:00

Roxanne Clark, Louisville KY, 2008
acrylic and collage
4" x 6"

Au verso:
"Sometimes you just get to the point where you say; Screw IT! I Just want to be numb!"
-Sarah T.

Portraits from Destructon: Freight Yards

2008-06-18T01:50:00.000-04:00

Au verso:
" There are really only three kinds of people in Destructon.. people who fight ... peaople who surrender ...and people who profit off the other two.."
- Darren D.

Roxanne Clark, Louisville KY, 2008

acrylic paint and collage
6" x 4"

Post to David Berube

2008-06-13T17:39:00.000-04:00

David's mail art call, Bugs, was so pertinent to the current state of affairs within the Metropolis of Destructon that I felt compelled to respond. Within this mecca of commercial & industrial production nothing much has survived from the region's original habitats. There is no avian or aquatic species, no non-domesticated animals or botanicals and no geographically specific culture. Two things thrive in Destructon; human capital and insect infestation. With the constant influx of cheap labour to keep the factories chugging out their product comes with them infestations of crawlers. Insects dwell in the ring of human detritus and there is more than enough of that here, in fact it's hard to separate one from the other. A sort of 'chicken and the egg' phenomena is at work.
-Mr. Sparrow

Metropolis of Destructon topographic, 2008
ink w/ rubber stamp on card
6 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Post to: Roxanne, Louisville KY, USA

2008-06-10T15:12:00.003-04:00

Metropolis of Destructon freight yards, 2008
india ink and rubber stamp

Depicted here are the most westerly docks of Destructon's freight yards. In the second panel you can see the Epipharm™ Hydroponic Dome, the only place in all of the Metropolis where any vegetation can be found. Epipharm™ is one of the largest pharmaceutical manufactures and producers of human food supplements. All food is controlled by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) under the 'Beneficial to Human Health Act' and requires a prescription from a certified family nutritionist to obtain. Only the supper rich can afford real hydroponic fruits and vegetables, the rest live on "nutritionally balanced for life" civilian ration packets (CRPs).
- Mr. Sparrow, Postmaster General M.o.D.

REFERENCE

1. The Official Stop C-51 Website - Your Freedom And Health Are At Risk!

Roxanne, Louisville KY, USA

2008-06-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

These pensive and poetic quandaries bring to mind the intellectual absenteeism that can inflict the residence of a big city, allowing their culture, society and lifestyle to crumble into a distopian doldrum.

Roxanne Clark
Front 1/3: Collage 2008

Reverse 1/3

Roxanne Clark
Front 2/3: Collage 2008

Reverse 2/3

Roxanne Clark
Front 3/3: Collage 2008

Reverse 3/3

Dewi, Toronto Canada

2008-06-09T22:15:00.000-04:00

An artist and denizen of Hog Town, Dewi sent in this reminder that "despite all our technology and awareness it is hard to conquer addiction, homelessness and illness."

Dewi, Toronto
"Homeless man, Rue St. Cathrine" 2008
pen, pencil and watercolour

Dewi:
Destructon, like all major industrialized cities has it's history of homelessness and impoverished. Living entangled amongst the waste management corridors in shanty towns of cardboard, scavenged metal and dated refuge are the people that can no longer function within the system of the higher levels. Deposited and hidden away out of shame. Nothing here has lustre and nothing here has any value, this is where things are tossed to rot. Nothing thrives here it only continues because the sewage from above feeds it perpetually...
- Mr.Sparrow, Post Master General M.o.D.

Post to : Dewi 2008

india ink, watercoulour and rubber stamp

Petrofect Deep Sea Mining Islands

2008-06-01T13:13:00.000-04:00

india ink and watercolour

dims: 4" x 11"
after Nagasawa Rosetsu, 'Landscape & Chinese Figures'

india ink and watercolour

dims: 4" x 11"
influence: Sesson Shukei (orig. Satake Heizo) (1504-1589)

Origin of the idea ....

2008-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

This one was made with a series of similar postcards back in 1998, most of which have been mail out somewhere. It's notated on the back "Tales from the Metropolis of Destructon: The Approach". It got me doing these drawings again and I completed a much larger one that had been sitting around incomplete for 10 years with two others. I'm working on them currently.

india ink & watercolour on matt board
Dims: 11" x 4"

The Approach '98
The Petrofect Islands . These deep sea mining outposts tap into rich fossil and mineral deposits globally like the massive sulphide deposits near "black smokers" that spew 350-degree Celsius water into the frigid deep-sea environment that support strange marine organisms.