51黑料网

Ivan Cash ’08 (Photo courtesy of Ivan Cash)

Have you ever wondered who chooses the images on postage stamps? For eight years,  鈥�08 has been on a committee whose members decide exactly that.

Ten to 12 US citizens from all walks of life serve on the聽, meeting quarterly to discuss ideas for stamps representing American history, technology, art, culture, and other categories, and to recommend their selections to the Postmaster General for approval.

鈥淲hat has struck me over the years is that nobody really knows about this,鈥� said Cash, an award-winning artist and filmmaker. 鈥淎nd, for 99 percent of the cases, we are pulling from public submissions. If you have an idea for a stamp, submit it! Everything gets taken into consideration.鈥�

Cash can鈥檛 share details; meetings are closed and confidential. His invitation to join the advisory committee was also a bit cloak-and-dagger. 

鈥淚 received a cryptic email from a partner of the USPS,鈥� said Cash, who studied communication at Geneseo. 鈥淯ntil I also got a phone call, I thought, this can鈥檛 be real. The email might as well have said 鈥楢rrive at the bench with an ice cream cone in one hand at 4 o鈥檆lock.鈥欌��

Cash said the committee was looking for a younger member who appreciated mail and had some expertise in arts and culture. 

Cash focuses his work on celebrating the human spirit and exploring themes of connection and belonging in the age of technology. He runs Cash Studios and recently debuted his first feature-length documentary,聽,聽about his artist father, which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at its Woodstock Film Festival premiere. An earlier project,聽聽caught the USPS’s attention. Over six years, Cash and 2,000 volunteers transcribed strangers鈥� emails into artistic, handwritten letters and mailed them worldwide, for free.聽

Serving on the postage stamp committee 鈥渉as definitely been an honor,鈥� said Cash. 鈥淪tamps are one of the few ways other than, say, currency, in which we brand America. I can鈥檛 think of any other ongoing initiative that has such a legacy behind it that reflects the perception of American values and American culture. It鈥檚 only one square inch, but there鈥檚 something provocative about that. Love it or hate it, everyone gets mail.鈥�

From proposal to post office, the process can take three years. Have an idea? Make sure it  and submit it, via snail mail, of course: 

Stamp Development
Attn: Citizens鈥� Stamp Advisory Committee
475 L鈥橢nfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
Washington, DC 20260-3501