Annotaties c. 1915 - 1921

Willem Witsen made this drawing, Annotaties, sometime between 1860 and 1923. It’s essentially just marks on paper, pencil on paper. I imagine him with his sketchbook, maybe in a cafe, recording his thoughts in scrawls and cross-outs. Look how the pencil lines vary in pressure and thickness. He's really digging in there in places, isn't he? Almost like he’s trying to erase and write at the same time. I feel a kinship with Witsen here. He’s working things out, one idea bumping up against another. Some artists make work to arrive at definitive answers, but I don’t think Witsen is trying to do that here. And I don’t think I am, either! This reminds me of Cy Twombly, also scribbling on paper. Artists are constantly in conversation, echoing and riffing off each other, even across generations. It's like we're all remixing the same song.