Destination & Destiny: Postcards As Emblems Of Contemporary Art

From Susan Hiller to Marcel Broodthaers: exploring artists' use of the postcard in the reception and dissemination of art

The reception of art without the postcard is almost inconceivable, whether through museum postcards reproducing celebrated works, gallery invitation cards or editions created by artists themselves. Yet the postcard has received far less attention as an artistic medium in its own right. This publication explores how artists have used postcards not simply as vehicles for reproduction or communication, but as conceptual tools that question authorship, circulation, institutional frameworks and the experience of art. Focusing on projects from the early 1960s onward, it examines works by On Kawara, Lawrence Weiner, Susan Hiller, Marcel Broodthaers, Michael Asher and Mathilde ter Heijne. Through close analysis, the book demonstrates how these artists employed the postcard to construct self-reflective artistic practices while engaging with broader cultural and political contexts. Their projects reveal the postcard as both an everyday object and a powerful medium for rethinking contemporary art and its institutions.
Gregor Stemmrich (born 1953) is Professor of Art and Art History at New York University Abu Dhabi.