Artist Matt Foley - Postcard and Calling Card


	Give a man fire, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.
		Matt Foley, also an award-winning designer, had created a set of new cards for his use as an artist. Creating both a calling card and a postcard design, Matt Foley has tapped into a tradition from a bygone era. The use of calling cards was a tradition begun in France in the early 1800's and spread through Europe and America as an important item of social identification. The height of the popularity of the calling card era coincides with the reign of Queen Victoria, Queen of England from 1837-1901. The use of calling cards was percieved as "high style", carried by ladies and gentleman who made a point to call on friends and family. They were also referred to as "visiting cards". Calling cards lost their popularity just after the turn of the century, when the postcard "era" began. Foley has based his card designs on the concept of heraldry - which first appeared in England and Scotland in the second half of the 12th century. Heraldic coats of arms were first developed to identify knights in armor needing some form of identification. Distinguishing the identity of a knight was perhaps the principal factor that produced this phenomenon when their faces were obscured by helmets.

	Heraldry proper is a feudal institution developed by noblemen using personal insignia on seals and shields, but the use of personal and family insignia is an ancient custom (it is mentioned by Homer). Heraldry is still very much in use though the origins are nearly 900 years old. Many cities and towns in Europe and around the world still make use of arms. Both legally protected and lawfully assumed, personal heraldry has continued to be used around the world.
Matt Foley: Notes from the heARTland - Wichita, Kansas - where the dear and the buffalo play, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day. Ah Richita, where artists have an equal opportunity to achieve true poverty and total obscurity. In the Emerald City, a river runs through it - there are choice real estate possibilities for living in a van. In Kansas, "cowboys and indians" isn't just a game played by children.