copyright 2001-2009 Poor Al. (Alan Barasch)

Poor Al's Junk Mail Jam

An Introduction to Junk Mail Jamming:

Two weeks after 9/11/2001, I received a piece of red, white, and blue mail with the giant face of a majestic bald eagle printed on the outside and the type “Urgent Open Immediately” across it. I ripped it open (well.... because it did –tell- me to open it immediately) and inside was an advertisement from my local cable TV provider. Instead of picking up the phone and ordering in a flurry of patriotic-fueled consumerism, I decided at that moment that I had had enough of the junk that filled my mailbox every afternoon.

I decided that retribution would involve me wasting just as much of a company’s time and money as they had wasted of mine. I started to draw on postage-paid return cards and pamphlets and mail them back to the companies that sent them to me. I scan in the image when it is completed and then send the original. My first book on the project, Junk Mail Jamming, represents some of the better examples from the series, but not all of them.

Ideally this will spur on others to do the same thing with their junk mail. If enough people “jam” up the mail, they will stop sending it to us. I don’t think I’m going to change the world, but I sure hope some very bored person working in the mail room at one of these companies gets a kick out of what I sent back (and keeps it). That alone would make it well worth all the effort.

- “Poor Al” Barasch

The book is 7.5x7.5", Hardback, 56 pages.

The layout and design of the book was done by Marcos LaFarga.

The Preface was written by Kevin Freitas of Art as Authority.com

Some sample images from the book... (click on the link to see more)

To buy a copy of the book go here...

To Join the group on Facebook and be a 'fan' (I would rather call it participant) go here: Junk Mail Jamming on Facebook!