Zwevende figuur before 1971

Curator: Looking at "Zwevende Figuur," or "Floating Figure," a drawing done by Rein Dool sometime before 1971, displayed here at the Rijksmuseum, I'm struck by the delicacy of the medium. It seems to be rendered in ink and pencil on paper, judging by its light pencil work and pen-ink sketching. What captures your eye initially? Editor: It feels… curious, unsettling even. A sort of dream logic at play. Like something sketched on the edge of sleep. I see these bulbous, almost cartoonish forms suspended in space, attached to what looks like a rolling, darker image. There's this bizarre juxtaposition. Curator: Indeed. Considering Dool's influences, Surrealism and fantasy-art certainly play a key role in this piece. What appears at first to be a light drawing seems loaded with symbolism. I'd argue that his skillful handling of materials transforms ordinary mediums into fantastical, ethereal imagery that feels incredibly immediate despite the time that has passed since it was created. Editor: The contrast is key, isn’t it? The upper portion, rendered with such lightness and simplicity, floats airily above a dense, almost claustrophobic scene contained in that hanging rectangle below. It's like two separate realities coexisting uneasily, an imaginative character sketch of an entirely personal experience that Dool is conveying. Curator: I agree. The material properties themselves—ink's fluidity, paper's absorbency— contribute to this sense of ethereal weightlessness contrasting with the heavier subject matter below. What is the relationship between those two realities to you? Editor: Perhaps it's the conscious mind versus the subconscious, the controlled sketch versus the chaotic dreamscape? It’s also the performative aspect, or its hint; as if whatever is being screened has weight. The "floating figure" above controls it as an extension of self, maybe. What stands out to me is how vulnerable it seems. The sketchy line-work amplifies that feeling and reinforces how idea generation sketches of sketchbook art work. Curator: That reading is interesting. And it makes one ponder about how much an idea generation sketch or a sketchbook drawing has. As we begin to consider the different realities contained within this light drawing. Its quirks feel intensely intimate because the hand of the artist is clearly present through these sketchbook drawings and the storyboard of pen-ink sketches. It also helps to connect the materiality with its emotionality, giving both depth beyond appearance alone. Editor: Absolutely. Dool's surrealist fantasy evokes emotions. A poignant example of the intimate connections that artists weave to personal feelings. Curator: And by viewing them we allow for an artistic expression which further extends the personal ideas of the sketchbook art, the drawing itself becomes collaborative across time and perspective.