Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1911 - 1916

Curator: Here, we have "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," thought to have been created between 1911 and 1916 by Arend Hijner. It combines drawing and typography, using ink on paper. A fascinating artifact that brings you in very close, no? Editor: Yes, my initial impression is that it's incredibly intimate. The handwritten script gives it a sense of immediacy and personality that you rarely find, especially with official documents from hotels! Curator: It's the imperfections, right? You feel almost like you're reading over someone's shoulder. Consider the semiotic dimension—the handwriting becomes a signifier itself, evoking not just information, but emotional proximity. Editor: Precisely. I am curious, though, about its function. Was it solely for informational exchange, or could there be a degree of performance here as well? Think about it, composing thoughts and feelings and committing them onto the page, presenting something about one's self with every flourish. Curator: Oh, that's wonderful! We know that Zilcken was a known artist and writer so Hijner likely assumed his words would be assessed critically, even as an informal note. Every choice – the ink's color, the paper's quality, even the pressure of the pen—contributes to this implicit evaluation of what constitutes "self." Editor: True, especially the letterhead on top from the "Royal Hotel Ouchy-Lausanne," adds to this element of formal introduction; yet juxtapose this professional element with something so informally produced. The act is like walking along a very self conscious tightrope between the public and the private self. It almost sounds paradoxical, really. Curator: Paradoxical indeed! It embodies an odd intimacy made possible with something intended for such mundane interactions, and reveals deeper existential explorations in a space where it is, at once, so present and absent from intention. The way such quotidian ephemera, like this letter, are encoded with these existential complexities is stunning to consider. Editor: Absolutely, like peering into someone’s soul as you stand outside time. A glimpse, if brief, still resonates powerfully.