Photographer Unknown, “Michael Bidner Xeroxing His Face”, c. 1973, Archives and Special Collections, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Front Cover Image for the Catalogue “Michael Bidner: Raw”, McIntosh Gallery Publisher
Multi-media artist and photographer Michael Thomas Bidner was an Ontario artist who worked in print and mixed media, perhaps best known for his works in xerography and mail art. Born in 1944 in London, Ontario, Bidner graduated from the technical high school H.B. Beal Secondary and briefly attended the Ontario College of Art before dropping out to pursue his art independently.
During his career, Bidner worked with various media, including silkscreening, collage, slides, photography, and video. He used the name “Cloud” in some of his projects and often incorporated the shape of an upside down “Y” as a signature symbol. In the 1970s. Bidner produced or co-created a number of alternative art-based publications: “Adz'” magazine (founder), “Rag” magazine (co-founder), and “Rude” magazine (co-founder/art director).
In the mid-1970s, Xerox Canada Ltd. provided the McIntosh Gallery at the University of Western Ontario with one of their new color copier machines to help promote its use. In the spring of 1976, Michael Bidner and artist Michael Hayden exhibited their copy art and led a number of public workshops. Later that year, Bidner and Hayden were part of the “Color Xerography” group show at the Art Gallery of Ontario, which also included the work of Jaan Poldaas, Flavio Belli, Barbara Astman, and Robert Arn.
Bidner was also interested in philately and mail art, coining the term “artistamp” to refer to his postage art. In 1984, he organized the first international exhibition of mail art, titled “Artistampex”, in London, Ontario. Networking and letter-writing with mail artists in Canada and abroad, Bidner began compiling a groundbreaking database of artists and artwork entitled “Standard Artistamp Catalogue and Handbook”. Unfortunately, Bidner’s declining health prevented him from finishing the project.
Following unsuccessful attempts to place his collection at a Canadian art institution, Bidner’s personal collection of original postage art was given to the Artpool Art Research Center in Budapest, Hungary in 1989. A strong supporter of gay and marginal communities, Michael Bidner passed away of AIDS in 1989.