This weekend is the last to see Jared Bark’s photobooth works at Southfirst in Williamsburg. The compositions, created between 1969 and 1976, combine the seriality of ‘60s minimalism with the self-portrait performance strategies of the ‘70s and beyond. Bark, a West Coast transplant who became involved with the Judson Dance Theatre in the mid-‘60s, created grids from placing strips of photobooth images side by side. Together the columns of images depicting various patterns, from intensities of shadows on the curtains to angular line motifs to a quick-change record of all his shirts. In some instances, he holds out a stick or limb to create geometric patterns; in others, bits of elbows or chins peep in from the edge of the frame. Rather than self-description, Bark largely uses the body as a tool for drawing in space.
Pictured: Jared Bark: Untitled (JBARK PB 1004), 1973, silver gelatin prints, approx. 8 by 15½ inches. Courtesy Southfirst, Brooklyn.