Sculpture Magazine Review of Aven Project

In the September 2007 edition of Sculpture Magazine:





Pont Aven, France
John K. Melvin
Centre International d'Art Contemporain

John K. Melvin’s The Aven Project wound upriver through the town of Pont Aven (often called the “City of Painters”) in southwest Brittany. For Melvin, his sail-like transparent scrims, which cast light and shadow on water and shore, acted as paintings. For most viewers, however, the project did not seem painterly; instead, the scrims approached architecture or sculpture, redefining space and inviting us to consider town and river in new ways.

The thousands of tourists who swell the population of Pont Aven in the summer months look mostly at the river as part of nature’s bounty—plants, fish, and sometimes small eels flowing smoothly in the water and over rapids with large rock formations called chaos. Melvin challenged us to consider other interpretations and views: how art interacts with nature to bring the viewer into a changed relationship with the surrounding world.

Attracted by light and color, artists have visited Pont Aven since the mid-19th century (beginning with a group of American painters in the 1860s, followed by Paul Gauguin and Émile Bernard, among others, in the 1880s). The quality of light in Brittany is quite different from that in other parts of France—even green gives off tints of bluish light. Melvin’s stark white scrims enhanced that bluish tint. Different times of day and different skies caused a variety of reflections and moods.

In the center of town, the scrims enlivened the fast-flowing river and flowering plants while attracting viewers’ attention. Crowds leaned over the rails of a small bridge to question whether this installation was art or something practical such as a hydroelectric project. Melvin’s project was public art at its most engaging. It raised questions of “is this really art” while challenging the viewer, but offered little to disturb, except for those few who resent any intrusion into nature. Although somewhat reminiscent of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work, Melvin’s fabric banners were more about exploring the Aven than calling attention to a space. The scrims followed the river from the more populated area of town to the less populated edge of Pont Aven and the Bois d’Amour. Children and adults jumped from rock to rock and walked along the river’s banks in their explorations.

A small bridge—one of two in the installation’s path—offered head-on views of Melvin’s work. From this vantage point, the scrims seemed to form layers floating above the river, pointing toward the town center. Lyrical and flowing, the delicate-looking, though incredibly strong scrims floated and danced over the water. The beauty and elegance of the forms complemented the picturesque town and its river.

Boating, especially sailing and fishing, has long been central to life in Pont Aven, and Melvin acknowledged this in his installation. The Aven Project, in the planning for over a year, was sponsored by CIAC, the Centre International d’Art Contemporain, and was accompanied in the CIAC gallery by Melvin’s drawings, paintings, and a documentary video. An artist/mentor, the artist’s father, and a handful of townspeople collaborated on the installation of the scrims. For most (and for me), this was a compellingly successful project that will be remembered in Pont Aven for years to come. —Ann Albritton



And as a note from me personally, thanks again to everyone who made the Aven Project dream come true.

cheers,