Ann Putnam Artist Statement
I hand-carve tiny rubber stamps, pull a series of prints, and then hide the stamps in small watertight containers in public locations for others to find. The clues to find these hidden works of art are sometimes complex, sometimes simple. Most are hidden on mountain trails and natural environments, some at historic sites, one is hidden in an art museum, another in a library. Some of these images are portraits of people whose actions and voices feed my soul. Some of the images are of places close to my heart. The hidden stamps can be found by anyone, inked up and printed for free. The art is accessible, the journey transformative. This treasure hunt for art is called Letterboxing and has been around for more than 160 years. Ten years ago I heard about Letterboxing and it appealed to me as a parent and teacher of young children. I was fascinated by the idea that other people would create these little works of art and willingly put them at risk of being stolen, all for the benefit of facilitating a unique sensory experience for strangers in the form of a scavenger hunt.
I’m not teaching anymore, and my kids have grown up, but I’m still playing this ‘game’ and only in the last couple of years have decided to re-brand my hobby as art. There is an aura of secrecy in the activity of Letterboxing, a desire to keep the images private so as not to spoil the surprise for others who are on the hunt. For years, I hesitated to share my art to keep the game fun, but once I started carving art for social justice, I realized the voices, actions, and words of these individuals needed to be amplified. At the end of the day, I hope my work will inspire, motivate, start conversations, bridge connections and build empathy.
Ann Putnam Artist Bio
Ann Putnam is a printmaker from Wilton, New Hampshire. She is carrying on the 160-year-old tradition of Letterboxing where individuals hand-cave rubber stamps and hide them in public places for others to find by following clues, sending participants on a treasure hunt for art. Finders of the stamps make their own print of the images to keep, then re-hide the stamp for others to find. A decade ago, Ann started carving little, rubber stamps and hid them for fun, creating treasure hunts for others in natural environments. Driven by the current political, social, and environmental climate, she now seeks out lesser-known individuals who by choice or by circumstance have found themselves in a position advocating for justice.
Ann currently
works at the MacDowell Colony, a contemporary artists’ residency
program in Peterborough, NH. Before that, she taught for 14 years in
both Montessori schools and Head Start programs. She is always looking
for opportunities to collaborate with others to make nature, art, and live music experiences accessible to communities in Southern New Hampshire and beyond.
Ann
and her artist husband / teacher Ben live in Wilton, and their two
children have recently flown the coop and are off changing the world.