There’s something kinda cool going on in the photosharing site Flickr with “artist trading cards.” I’m not sure what it is (artists making playing card-sized works to swap?), how it started (a couple of years, max?) or how widespread it is as an activity (alot are mixed media) … But from what I can tell of the work, there is some sweet stuff being made, and exchanged (though word to the wise: not everyone thinks the card they got is as cool as the one they gave apparently).

Here is a sampling of art cards made by various artists. To view more, visit the Artist Trading Card pool at Flickr.

Here is a little more background on the “movement” from the lovely Cedar Seed website:

As their name indicates, ATC are collectables, a brilliant idea born of the older sports-themed trading cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives from their origins: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5″x3.5″, or 64x89mm.

To this rule are appended a couple of conventions. First, an ATC mustn’t be sold, only exchanged, as the whole essence of these tiny works of art is about artists meeting (by correspondence or online if need be) and exchanging their works, thus meeting many artists and getting exposed to many personal styles. Second, on the back of each ATC the artist writes part or all of the following information: name, contact information, title of the ATC and number (1/8, 2/8…) if it’s part of an edition. By definition ATCs are made in limited numbers, often no more than one of a kind. Unique ATCs are called originals; sets of identical ATCs are called editions and are numbered; sets of ATCs that are based on one theme but that are different are called series. Don’t be intimidated by the concept of small editions or originals: very few people are anal about this. What most collectors really want are cards that were made with care. Based on that, numbers are meaningless.

According to another site, artist trading cards (ATCs) “was initiated in 1997 by Zurich artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann. since then several hundred people from all over the world have traded ATCs during trading sessions (see their gallery), through mail or by participating in copy-left editions and sister trading cards.”