My Weblog: The Stamp Knows No Borders

A conversation in the etsy forums yesterday reminded me of this fascinating book bought at Powells Books a few months ago. In college I first ran across some Hundertwasser prints while writing a gallery review--I was journalism major with a Fine Art minor so I wrote about art a lot.

Since then I've also seen examples of Hundertwasser’s stamps online so this eloquent (if a bit over personified) quote about stamps stood out to me:

“The stamp is an important object. Although very small in format, it carries a message. Stamps are a measure of the culture of a country. This tiny, rectangular piece of paper links the hearts of the sender and receiver. It is a bridge between peoples and nations. The stamp knows no borders. It reaches us even in prisons, asylums, and hospitals, and wherever we may be on earth. Stamps should be ambassadors of art and life and not simply soulless proofs of postage paid. The stamp must experience its destiny. The stamp must once again fulfil its purpose, which means it must serve on letters. A true stamp must feel the tongue of the sender moistening its gum. A stamp must be stuck on a letter. A stamp must experience the dark depths of the post box. A stamp must suffer franking. A stamp must sense the hand of the postman handing the letter to the addressee....The stamp is the only work of art that everyone can own, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, educated and ignorant, free or robbed of freedom..." 2-14-1990 Hundertwasser

I couldn’t get a good photo of the stamps (darn glossy black pages!) but they can be found here.