Last year’s selection of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General brought new challenges to the U.S. Postal Service, that at one point, even threatened mail in voting during the 2020 presidential election. Issues with the USPS continue with DeJoy’s ten-year strategic plan that could result in longer delivery service standards and which continues to draw criticism from lawmakers already fed up with ongoing delays in mail delivery.
These ongoing concerns with the USPS prompted renowned artists and musicians Mark Mothersbaugh and Beatie Wolfe to launch the “Postcards for Democracy” project, that’s now become an exhibition opening May 17 at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery in Fort Myers and runs through August 8.
The project has garnered tens of thousands of submissions and helped to generate revenue for the USPS through stamp sales as well as helped to reaffirm the value of the postal service itself.
Mothersbaugh is perhaps best known as lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, which is among this year’s nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Aside from DEVO, Mothersbaugh has released a number of solo albums and has contributed widely to music in film and television. He’s also fostered a life-long interest in creating multimedia art pieces and his interest in postcard art goes back decades.
Beatie Wolfe music is on the forefront of embracing technology in regards to reframing how we experience music in modern times. She also joins artists including John Cage, Andy Warhol and Bob Rauschenberg in participating in the Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology.
Mothersbaugh and Wolfe join us to explore the project along with Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Director Jade Dellinger.
