POSTCARDS FOR DEMOCRACY 2024: A Collective Post Art Demonstration
By Mark Mothersbaugh & Beatie Wolfe
Published Issue 131, November 2024
Legendary musician and composer Mark Mothersbaugh and acclaimed conceptual artist and musician Beatie Wolfe once again joined forces to reactivate Postcards For Democracy — their non-partisan, collective post art campaign in anticipation of the 2024 Presidential Election.
Weaving together the power of art and community to underscore the importance of democracy and voting rights, Postcards for Democracy invites people to create a piece of mail art and send it in to become part of a public art demonstration, with an exhibition and book to follow. Participants are encouraged to create postcards reflecting their personal journeys, thoughts and hopes for the future as a symbol of their commitment to democracy. In celebration of USPS — a vital institution — anyone can join the movement (even postelection) by buying stamps, creating a piece of postcard art and mailing it to: Postcards for Democracy, 8760 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.
“Postcards for Democracy is back again! Show your thoughts regarding this election and post a message through the U.S. Post Office to us. Honorary postal delivery man Mark Mothersbaugh!” Mark Mothersbaugh states.
Originally launched during the COVID-19 lockdown ahead of the 2020 election, Postcards for Democracy has stirred tens of thousands of people to create and contribute to the public art movement, supporting the USPS while reminding and mobilizing people to vote. Mark and Beatie have received postcards from every part of the U.S. and across the world with the ever-growing collection, which first exhibited at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery in 2021. In 2022, a selection of the art was taken into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.
“I believe in the power of art to activate change and that we all have the chance to envision — and create — the kind of future world that we want to live in with much more of a say, both as individuals and as a collective, than we may realize. This postcard project, rooted in a deep love of physical communication, is a celebration of what connects us. And like the Postal Service, we have to use our power, our voice, our freedom of choice and not take any of it for granted,” Beatie Wolfe explains.
Leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election on November 5, Mark and Beatie have been holding Postcards for Democracy pop-ups across Greater Los Angeles’ universities, parks, libraries, community centers, museums and the occasional sidewalk where anyone can create mail art with them.
Unveiled last month with the help of renowned actor, comedian and musician Fred Armisen, the legendary iconic Oscar Niemeyer designed Mutato Muzika now showcases a monolith mailbox on its sidewalk. The installation will be in place until after the election with Mark and Beatie holding impromptu pop-up postcard creation tables.
For post art inspiration and to learn more, check out Postcards for Democracy’s Website and follow for more on Instagram. Join the demonstration today:
ABOUT MARK MOTHERSBAUGH:
Mark Mothersbaugh is one of this era’s most unique and prolific conceptual artists and composers. Deeply aware of the ability of precise, multi-faceted artistic expression to deliver vital social commentary, he has perpetually challenged and redefined musical and visual boundaries. Mothersbaugh co-founded the influential rock group DEVO and parlayed his avant-garde musical background into a leading role in scoring for filmed and animated entertainment, interactive media, and commercials.
Mark has scored 150 films, television shows, video games, and hundreds of commercials through his multimedia company, Mutato Muzika. He has had 165 visual and audio art shows, including his retrospective traveling museum exhibition Myopia.
He has received a doctorate in Humane Letters at Kent State University, his alma mater. See more on his Website and Instagram.
ABOUT BEATIE WOLFE:
“Musical weirdo and visionary” (Vice) Beatie Wolfe has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN role model for innovation, and held a solo exhibition of her ‘world first’ designs at the V&A Museum.
Named by WIRED as one of “22 people changing the world,” Wolfe is at the forefront of pioneering new formats that bridge the physical and digital. Wolfe’s latest innovations include a visualisation of 800,000 years of CO2 data, which premiered at the Nobel Prize Summit; a Brain Installation which was exhibited at the London Design Biennale in Somerset House and a Big Oil project which just won Prix Ars Electronica’s Golden Nica.
Other recent projects include the world’s first bioplastic record with Michael Stipe and EarthPercent and a new body of work with Brian Eno. Wolfe is also the co-founder of a groundbreaking research project looking at the power of music for dementia. See more on her Website and Instagram.
Head to our Explore section to see past published work in Birdy from Mark and Beatie.