Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1925 - 1927

Lya Berger made this postcard to Philip Zilcken sometime in the early 20th century; the faded ink hints at a moment caught in time. I wonder about the act of painting itself—how it came into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition? I sympathize with Berger and imagine what it might have been like to create. What might she have been thinking when she made it? The address is neatly written, and I can imagine the artist carefully sketching the vase and the head in profile, taking real pleasure from this activity. The stamps are like miniature artworks in themselves. In some ways, all art builds on art, artists are always in conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. So much ambiguity and uncertainty exist in artmaking. This allows for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed or definitive readings.