Held, John, 1947-....

[Not to be confused with illustrator John Held, 1889-1958].) John Held, Jr. (the "Jr." is an appropriated addition) was born in 1947. He matured as an artist in the mid-seventies, and became involved in the international Mail Art network, mentored by Fluxus collector Jean Brown and the artist Ray Johnson. He holds a M.L.S. (1972) from the Syracuse University School of Information Science, and has combined his interests in information science and alternative art to form the largest archive of Mail Art in the United States. He is the the author of Mail Art : An Annotated Bibliography (1991: Scarecrow Press), as well as the founder of the Modern Realism Archive and Gallery, an independent study center for alternative arts, which he later moved to San Francisco. The center sought to preserve the record of contemporary avant-garde cultural activity, focusing on Fluxus, Mail Art, Rubber Stamp Art, Video, Stamps, Performance Art, Artists Books and Periodicals.

From the description of John Held papers relating to Mail Art, [ca. 1960-2000]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79193901

...