Plattegrond van een verdieping c. 1864

Editor: So, this is 'Plattegrond van een verdieping,' roughly translated to "Floor Plan," by Willem Springer Jr., dating back to about 1864. It’s ink and pencil on paper, giving it this almost blueprint-like quality, yet it's got the intimacy of a sketchbook drawing. It really emphasizes geometry, in an intriguing, abstract way. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, for me, it's all about the labor that goes into creating a sense of place, a building, a home. Look at the material reality: ink painstakingly applied to paper. It reveals a production of space – architecture – but it also evokes questions about who commissioned it, who would eventually occupy it, and how the making of it relates to larger social structures. Do you see how the meticulous hand-drawn lines betray the economics behind constructing this reality? Editor: Absolutely. The hand-drawn quality definitely makes you think about the individual behind it, less of a cold, calculated blueprint and more about human intervention in the space. It almost feels like it wants to celebrate the materials used in the craft. Curator: Exactly! It resists this detachment and calculation! I'd ask you, what were the means available to create this drawing? How might its production be connected to other industries, the sourcing of paper or the manufacturing of inks for example? We tend to place art in an untouchable realm, and it often detaches itself from labor; this connects the labor and the artistic intention together in the same picture plane. Editor: That makes perfect sense. Thinking about the materials themselves, like the quality of the paper and the specific ink used, shifts the focus to the whole network of production. It encourages you to ask about economics, material, artistic endeavor as one picture of thought. Curator: And, of course, in its own way, it foreshadows many modern forms and processes we'd soon see enter the art world. This has been interesting for both of us. Editor: It certainly has! Thank you.