Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1908 - 1927

This postcard was sent by N.J. Singels, at some point in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the way the ink sits on the card, how it bleeds a little into the fibres, it gives the script a kind of hazy atmosphere. The stamp and postmarks create a kind of ghosting effect which overlaps the confident looping script in dark ink. The text feels both spontaneous and practiced, like handwriting often is. It’s as if the message is embedded in a personal, hand-made time capsule. Consider the small decisions involved; the pressure of the pen on the page, the pauses and the varying pace of the hand as it travels across the card. It brings to mind other artist’s correspondence, the writing of Cy Twombly for example, which merges line, text and image into a singular, abstract form. This modest piece is a reminder that art is just one part of an ongoing conversation. It embraces the potential for multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings.