Xavier Antin at Crèvecoeur

Artist: Xavier Antin

Exhibition title: when “i” met “k”,

Venue: Crèvecoeur, Paris, France

Date: January 27 – March 18, 2017

Photography: © Aurélien Mole, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Crèvecoeur, Paris

a l t k (editing)

The time it takes the pen to put a dot on the “i”, the machine produces a complete letter. Strikes and triggers proceed in automated and discrete steps. The typewriter as a discursive machine-gun was bound to roll automatically off the production lines of a gun manufacturer.

t s r p (cutting)

Autonomy and assembly lines.

Remington & Son mass-produced the first typewriter from a patent bought from a man who had stolen it.

n f b c (folding)

The failure of authenticity.

prototype (approximation)

As a young Kodak engineer, Steven Sasson introduced in 1975 his first prototype of the digital camera to his employers. The world leader of photography film promptly buried the project.

prototype (reversed)

Kodak definitely closed its doors in 2012.

prototype (extended)

Gestures delayed in time, performed by someone else, elsewhere.

h y l f (cropping)

“We ‘square men’ had a sign by which we knew each other. If a true brother came to my case, ostensibly to borrow sorts, and idly let a few lower-case ‘i’ s’ sift through his fingers, I would let some lower-case ‘k’ s’ sift through my fingers. Thus we would understand each other without need of conversation.”

r a e i (handling of sorts)

In the XIXth century’s United State, most of the printers joining the International Typographical Union (ITU) were called “square men,” meaning “radical”, meaning leftist or anarchist. Union men had to keep their affiliation secret in theses times.

d v c j (discussing)

Typing on a personalized jaquard loom.
The literal meaning of text is tissue.

k m l u (copying)

Divination predates technology, reading precedes writing.

Dyslexia or aphasia or agraphia.

v g l o (and and and)

Xavier Antin, d v c j (discussing), 2017, impression jet d’encre, plâtre polyester, 4 visses en bronze, 160 x 112 cm

Xavier Antin, ???, 2017, impression jet d’encre, plâtre polyester, 4 visses en bronze, 160 x 112 cm

Xavier Antin, prototype (approximation), 2017, aluminium, peinture, objectif photo, cassette audio, lecteur K7, plexiglass, carton, acier, 29,5 x 21 x 31,5 cm

Xavier Antin, prototype (reversed), 2017, aluminium, peinture, plexiglass, cassette audio, lecteur K7, plastique, bois aggloméré, carton, acier, 12,5 x 17,4 x 26 cm