Briefkaart aan Willem Bogtman before 1925

This “Briefkaart aan Willem Bogtman” (Postcard to Willem Bogtman) by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, is an artifact of paper, ink, and the postal system, dating back to 1925. It is both an artwork and a piece of everyday communication. Consider the materiality of the postcard itself: the processed wood pulp, coated and printed, made affordable through industrial production. The marks on the card, a combination of machine-stamped postal information and the personal touch of handwriting, speak to the intersection of mass production and individual expression. The stamp, itself a small printed image, is indicative of broader economic and political systems. Roland Holst, as the sender, engages with these materials and processes. The act of writing and sending this postcard transforms it from a mere commodity into a unique and intimate object. By examining the materials and the making of this postcard, we can appreciate how everyday objects carry cultural, social, and personal significance, blurring the lines between the artistic and the mundane.