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What Is Unique in Ruud Janssen’s Work?
Ruud
Janssen occupies a distinctive position in contemporary art because he
operates between artist, archivist, interviewer, publisher, and network
builder. His uniqueness lies less in isolated objects and more in systems
of artistic communication he has sustained for over four decades.
Below are the key aspects that make his work distinctive:
1. Art as
Communication System (Not Just Object)
Unlike
traditional studio artists, Janssen treats communication itself as the
artwork. Since the early 1980s, he has worked within international mail art
networks, where:
- The postal system becomes exhibition space
- Envelopes, stamps, and correspondence become
artworks
- Participation replaces authorship as the core
value
This aligns
him historically with the ethos of Fluxus, where process and exchange
outweigh permanence.
What is unique is that Janssen didn’t just participate — he engineered the network infrastructure.
2. Founder
of a Global Artist Network
In 1988 he
founded the International Union of Mail-Artists (IUOMA), one of the
most durable and active mail art platforms in the world.
What makes this special:
- It predates most social media models of artistic
exchange
- It bridges analog (postal mail) and digital
platforms
- It is artist-run, non-commercial, and globally
inclusive
This positions Janssen not only as an artist, but as a cultural ecosystem builder.
3. The
“Mail-Interview” Format
Between
1994 and 2001, Janssen conducted more than 80 experimental “Mail-Interviews”
with Fluxus and mail artists worldwide.
Instead of
conventional Q&A, he used:
- Postal
mail
- Fax
- Early
email
- Telephone
- Handwritten
exchanges
These
interviews became hybrid works — part documentation, part conceptual art.
This body
of work connects him directly to late 20th-century network culture and
anticipates today’s distributed digital discourse.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruud_Janssen
4. Rubber
Stamp and Archive Culture
Through
TAM-Publications and the TAM Rubberstamp Archive, Janssen preserved and
circulated thousands of artist-made rubber stamps and printed works.
What’s unique:
- He archives ephemeral art forms that institutions
often overlook
- The archive itself functions as an evolving
artwork
- Distribution and documentation are equal to
production
See: https://www.lomholtmailartarchive.dk/networkers/ruud-janssen
5.
Analog–Digital Hybrid Practice
Janssen was
among the early mail artists to integrate:
- Bulletin
Board Systems (BBS)
- Early
internet communication
- Digital
scanning and reproduction
He did this
without abandoning hand-painted envelopes, acrylic work, and physical media.
His uniqueness lies in refusing the binary of digital vs. analog — instead creating a continuous communication spectrum.
6. Artist
as Publisher
Through
TAM-Publications, Janssen produces:
- Booklets
- Zines
- Interview
compilations
- Statement
collections
Unlike commercial publishing, these are part of the artwork itself — self-distributed, network-driven, and participatory.
7.
Decentralized Legacy
Unlike
artists who build careers around museum collections, Janssen’s works are:
- Distributed across global mail art networks
- Held in
private artist archives
- Embedded
in collaborative exhibitions
- Circulating in libraries and Fluxus archives
His “museum” is the network.
In Summary
— What Makes Him Unique?
Ruud
Janssen is unique because:
- He treats communication as artistic material
- He built and sustained a global artist network
(IUOMA)
- He created a hybrid interview-as-art format
- He archives and publishes as artistic acts
- He bridges pre-internet and internet art culture
seamlessly
His
importance lies not in isolated masterpieces, but in maintaining an
international, participatory art ecosystem for over 40 years.
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