‘tree is leaf’ grew from Emily's exploration of a poem in a blueprint by her father (James E. Brewton, 1930-1967).
The print, called The Pataphysics Times (1964), is about Asger Jorn, the CoBrA artists’ group, Pataphysics and the Situationists. An enchanting poem on the upper right corner, under the heading ‘Special Report,’ was written by Aldo van Eyck (1918-1999). He called it ‘tree-leaf.’ Jim Brewton added to the poem in The Pataphysics Times.
Van Eyck was a Dutch architect and participant in the CoBrA and Situationist groups. He designed the CoBrA exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1949 and Belgium’s Palais des Beaux-Arts Liege in 1951. (CoBrA was a wildly playful style of art-making, founded November 8, 1948, by artists from COpenhahen, BRussels, and Amsterdam.)
It’s highly likely that Jim Brewton met Aldo van Eyck at the University of Pennsylvania. Van Eyck was a visiting lecturer and critic at the university from 1956 to 1961, and Brewton worked at the university bookstore. By then, Jim had already encountered the CoBrA artists through The Print Club, where he also worked part-time. Van Eyck wrote ‘tree-leaf’ in 1961 and circulated different versions privately. It was first published in the October 1963 issue of The Situationist Times and appeared in Domus in May 1965.
Emily created this site about the poem because she could. All of the images are personal: For instance, that's Jim as a child on the left, and a slide show of Emily with him on the right, on this page. Please enjoy.
The print, called The Pataphysics Times (1964), is about Asger Jorn, the CoBrA artists’ group, Pataphysics and the Situationists. An enchanting poem on the upper right corner, under the heading ‘Special Report,’ was written by Aldo van Eyck (1918-1999). He called it ‘tree-leaf.’ Jim Brewton added to the poem in The Pataphysics Times.
Van Eyck was a Dutch architect and participant in the CoBrA and Situationist groups. He designed the CoBrA exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1949 and Belgium’s Palais des Beaux-Arts Liege in 1951. (CoBrA was a wildly playful style of art-making, founded November 8, 1948, by artists from COpenhahen, BRussels, and Amsterdam.)
It’s highly likely that Jim Brewton met Aldo van Eyck at the University of Pennsylvania. Van Eyck was a visiting lecturer and critic at the university from 1956 to 1961, and Brewton worked at the university bookstore. By then, Jim had already encountered the CoBrA artists through The Print Club, where he also worked part-time. Van Eyck wrote ‘tree-leaf’ in 1961 and circulated different versions privately. It was first published in the October 1963 issue of The Situationist Times and appeared in Domus in May 1965.
Emily created this site about the poem because she could. All of the images are personal: For instance, that's Jim as a child on the left, and a slide show of Emily with him on the right, on this page. Please enjoy.
Emily's family site |
Jim Brewton nonprofit foundation |
http://tree-leaf.weebly.com