Guy Bleus
| Guy Bleus | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Guy Bleus October 23, 1950 Hasselt, Belgium |
| Website | http://www.mailart.be/ |
Guy Bleus (born October 23, 1950 in Hasselt, Belgium) is an artist associated with the mail art movement and performance art.
His work covers different areas, including administration (which he calls Artministration), postal and olfactory communication.
In 1978 he founded The Administration Centre – 42.292 which became a huge art archive with works and information of 6000 artists from more than 60 countries. "Guy Bleus has one of the finest archives of mail art in Europe, if not the world."
Bleus was the first artist who systematically used scents in plastic arts. Since 1979 he showed smell paintings, mailed perfumed objects and made aromatic installations; he also created spray performances where he sprayed a mist of fragrance over the audience.
Exploring the possibilities of communication media as art media, he investigated the postal system in Indirect correspondence (1979) and searched for an alternative postal system in Airmail by balloons. Together with Charles François he was a pioneer using a computer connected to a modem for artistic communication (in 1989). He also applied reproduction media such as Microfilm, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM for artistic reasons.
One of his performance works from the 1980s was documented in the artists' periodical Force Mental. The performance took place in the venue Il Ventuno in Hasselt, and is described as follows: "Guy Bleus wears a costume made of official stamps of 1/2fr. He cuts his moustache into a Hitler-moustache. Against the wall he hangs photocopies of Hitler's head. Enlargements whereby the moustache is growing bigger (till A3 format). Bleus sticks then stamps, the same as of which his costume is made of and stamps them with his number-stamp: 42.292. Then he sticks a naked girl full with stamps of 1/2fr and stamps them with the number stamp. Finally he cuts off his Hitler-moustache and breaks a mirror." Another fascinating performance of Bleus is called 'Value Shredder' (1982).
Impressive are the numerous international art projects which Bleus has organised, such as Are you experienced? L.H.F.S. (1981),W.A.A.: Mail eARTh Atlas (1981–83),Telegraphy (1983),Aerograms (1984), Cavellini Festival 1984,Art is Books (1991), Fax Performances (1992–1993),Private Art Detective: Sealed Confessions, and Building Plans & Schemes (1993).
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