Schrijvende hand 1884 - 1952

This drawing of a writing hand was made by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. I find myself looking at this work and thinking about the simple act of the hand moving across the page. You know, sometimes the most profound things are hidden in the everyday, right? I wonder what Willem Petrus de Vries was thinking as he made this, what words were going through his mind, did he make any mistakes, or false starts? It's just a simple sketch, but I imagine it’s full of potential and possibility, a moment caught in time. The word 'klop', or 'knock' can be seen taking shape on the page. Every gesture is communicating feeling, a certain intention, a kind of meaning. Like, what does it mean to ‘knock’? It reminds me that all of us artists are always talking to each other, building on one another’s ideas, it’s an ongoing exchange. And that art isn’t always about answers, it's often about ambiguity, about opening things up to different ideas.