Ontwerp, mogelijk een plattegrond 1908

Curator: Well, here's a curious item! This is a pencil drawing on paper by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, titled "Ontwerp, mogelijk een plattegrond," or "Design, possibly a plan," created in 1908. Editor: It’s…tentative, isn’t it? A ghostly outline, like a half-formed idea caught on paper. Almost ethereal in its lightness. Curator: Absolutely. Cachet, while primarily known for his decorative work and graphic design, often experimented with abstract forms. Consider how this piece questions the functionality usually associated with design, making it more conceptual. The bare paper, the pencil's fragility—they draw attention to the act of creation itself. Editor: The shapes within—the rectilinear form intersected with curved elements, and that emblem that evokes something heraldic. What do those mean here? The right-angled forms bring stability and foundation but that one ornament, near the left border of the plane, has a touch of something noble. A family emblem, perhaps? I wonder, how the social standing of who commissions a space for affects architectural construction and design choices made. Curator: Interesting connection to the historical social element in architecture. As well as the visual symbolism, consider the production process itself. The pencil lines suggest the artist working directly, perhaps quickly. What labor and thought went into making, constructing it... was the plattegrond used at the end of it all or it remained an imaginative play of shapes. Editor: You're reminding me about those early 20th-century design movements… Was there something spiritual implied with Cachet in those days as there were strong feelings about building society towards the future. Curator: While he was a very practical artist focused on everyday utilitarian pieces, a designer working between practicality and imagination... The spiritual could certainly influence how the shapes, and the final product will be used in society as well. The drawing certainly has a suggestive dimension to it. Editor: It invites speculation, for sure. Almost a palimpsest of geometric dreams. Curator: Precisely! And thinking about his time, perhaps a peek into his thoughts while drawing out a new design. So, instead of pure aesthetics, it might give a better hint towards social change that's slowly affecting Cachet. It asks us to look beyond the function, doesn’t it, to see the person behind it? Editor: Definitely makes you think about process and labor's meaning on the surface as well as something about Cachet and his vision, yes.