Author: Jason

Date: USPS stamp: December 3, 1991

Artwork: paint/ postcard

One of the most striking things looking back at the correspondence from both Jason, as well as myself, is the way issues of love and death are intertwined in our communications. This budding relationship was happening right in the middle of the AIDS epidemic. At the time, it was a primary emphasis in my artwork, and Jason lived in NYC, one of the epicenters of the pandemic. I was really terrified of being sexual. I didn’t realize it at the time- not that consciously, and I found ways to manage or modulate my behavior which will become more visible as I publish some of the letters I wrote. It is only now, decades later, I realize how terrified I was.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit recently about images I know I have- chromes shot in the basement of my old studio building. They popped up in my memory while I was away on vacation, and seeing the blue blob on this card just reminded me that I want to find them and digitize them.

I loved getting this card, and for a very long time it was taped up on the wall in my studio. Both sides if the card meant so much. The Michael Albanese work, is so moving. I remember looking at it and marveling– the use of shape, color, symbol and sign. My work always seems to be more raw and guttural. And then there is that blue blob. Can you interpret it? For me it was a long stream of words and sounds– so much that it spilled out too fast to be turned into actual letters and punctuation.