Visitekaartje aan Philip Zilcken 1872 - 1930

Barbara Elisabeth van Houten created this visiting card for Philip Zilcken with ink on card. I find it remarkable how such a simple piece can be so expressive. The ink isn't just lying there; it seems to dance across the surface. Look closely, and you'll see the subtle changes in pressure. The way the lines thicken and thin, especially in the elegant loops of her name, is like a visual rhythm. And what's so beautiful about handwritten things is how much they carry the weight of a person. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbles, and how he made writing a form of drawing. And how both artists are saying something with their art about being in conversation with someone else. Art, after all, is a kind of exchange, a back and forth, where meaning is never fixed, but always in motion.