Jen Bervin, detail of "cidade, city, cite."́ Silver paper and stencils; 26" x 20"
“Telefone sem fio: The Word-Things of Augusto de Campos Revisited”
Group show curated by Sharmila Cohen & Paul Legault
November 4 - December 17, 2011
EFA Project Space, in collaboration with Telephone present “Telefone Sem Fio: Word-Things of Augusto de Campos Revisted. This exhibition uses the work of the Brazilian poet Augusto de Campos as a catalyst for an experimental multi-disciplinary exercise in which a renowned group of poets, translators and artists, who exist across a continuum of text, sound and visual expression, invent translations of select examples of De Campos' work.
EFA Project Space
323 West 39 Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
JEN BERVIN WEAVING AT GRIDSPACE
On September 1, Jen Bervin started making a 5 foot by 5 foot, white on white weaving directly onto GRIDSPACE’S iron fence in Crown Heights. While working, Bervin wears a uniform of white coveralls with the word "WEAVER" embroidered in red. The weave structure of the coveralls fabric is the basis for the weave structure on the fence, a 4/1 warp-faced twill made from undyed cotton cord.
The fence is treated like a very simple loom, one dating back to 6000 BC. The warp, or vertical threads, circle the public and private side of the fence, as do the interwoven horizontal weft threads. The interaction with passersby has been overwhelmingly positive; neighbors and people who work in the area give compliments, keep tabs on the progress, ask questions, and offer good advice. The exhibition is visible 24 hours a day, in all weather, until Oct. 12. See the work in progress below.
GRIDSPACE provides an architecturally and sculpturally specific curatorial outlet that engages the rapidly changing neighborhood of northern Crown Heights. The non-traditional storefront gallery is located at 112 Rogers Avenue, at Sterling in northern Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY. Take the 2, 3, 4 or 5 train to Franklin.
DRAFT NOTATION
I typed these works on a Brother Correctronic 50. The scale is quite small. Just a bit smaller than what you see here. I think of them as scores to be performed on a loom or with needle and thread. All of them were made following intensive time spent weaving cloth structures on the loom. There are just a handful of little studies here and there are many, many more I've been amassing. They were inspired by Anni Albers' typewriter studies from Black Mountain College (the impetus for my desire to study weaving). It was quickly apparent to me that her profound understanding of cloth structure gave her a unique perspective on the gridded space the typewriter offers. I thought, "I know nothing about the typewriter yet."
