Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1910 - 1913

Curator: This delicate work is titled "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," tentatively dated between 1910 and 1913. It’s rendered with ink on paper, incorporating collage elements, likely printed materials. Editor: The envelope gives a feeling of something held between worlds; Roma to the Hague...There is the faintness of handwritten wishes travelling at snail's pace in those days, isn’t it? A ghostly elegance about it. Curator: The postal markings tell a story, literally stamping time and place onto this correspondence. Notice how the ink bleeds ever so slightly, revealing the paper's texture and age? Editor: Yes, and there's an implicit dialogue occurring through the careful choices involved, starting from selecting the stationary to applying a particular adhesive. Not merely the information imparted by it. Someone, somewhere chose all this… the feel of the paper between their fingers mattered! Curator: Pica clearly treasures this correspondence. He captures not just the literal message but also the tangible quality of communication, the materiality of the post. The way the script curls, like an embrace, conveying the artist’s own feelings and history! It seems very personal. Editor: Considering all the modes and avenues available to us now...The handwritten quality has been totally subverted now, hasn't it. So much so that just seeing the way someone’s writing curls like you say seems like it’s bearing secrets we cannot know. Curator: Exactly! “Brief aan Philip Zilcken” reminds us of art as a quiet, patient process—the human touch mediating messages across distances both geographic and emotional. Editor: Right. In fact I was so caught up on what that person chose in those moments I wonder who delivered the message in those days! It's beautiful but sad; so much intentionality wrapped in a quickly dissolving tradition!