ALLEN RUPPERSBERG

About

Allen Ruppersberg's first solo show in a public gallery in London is based on 'Literatura de cordels' — pamphlets produced by travelling poets and writers in Brazil. ‘Literatura de cordels' roughly translates as ‘Stories on a string', these simply made booklets contain folk stories, poems and songs and are illustrated with wood cuts. It coincides with the exhibition by Wallace Berman (1926 — 1976), who was a huge influence on Ruppersberg as well as other artists and poets emerging from the legacy of the Beat generation in the 1960s. For this exhibition Ruppersberg has produced his own versions of 'Literatura de cordels'. These pamphlets are hung from the ceiling over a red, black and white floor piece — 'Reading Standing Up' (2004). The text in the floor is made up of oppositions — us/them, left/right, text/margin, Italy/France, compelling you to read aloud and form your own rhythm and sounds. Ruppersberg transforms Gallery 3 into a room for reading, recalling Camden Art Centre's former life as a library. Throughout his life he has collected thousands of books, postcards, photographs, magazines, slides, posters, as well as industrial and educational films from 1931-1967. Ruppersberg uses these items as source material reflecting his interest in the cultural mythologies, narratives, and common truths of everyday life.