Driehonderdvijftigjarige herdenking van de inname van Brielle 1922 1922

Here's this medal commemorating the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the capture of Brielle, made in 1922 by Chris van der Hoef. It's so tiny! Imagine the artist's hand, carefully carving into the metal, trying to capture the weight of history in something so small. On one side, there's this guy kneeling before a harp or something, maybe representing the spirit of the city, and on the other side, a church tower rises up. I wonder what Van der Hoef was thinking about as he worked on this? Did he feel the weight of responsibility, trying to honor the past? I look at it and think that making art is like having a conversation with the past and other artists; each piece is a response to what came before, but also a step forward into the unknown. It’s like a little thought experiment played out in metal.