Brief van ds. Hooyman aan de koster 1779 - 1785

Editor: This small drawing, "Brief van ds. Hooyman aan de koster," made with ink and pen on paper sometime between 1779 and 1785…it's basically a handwritten note on what looks like aged paper. What kind of story do you think it tells? Curator: Ah, a note. Observe the hand. The careful script tells us something of Hooyman, but more importantly, of the cultural memory embedded in writing itself. Note how the words are almost pictograms; "Koster"—"sexton" in English. What immediate images spring to your mind when you see it? Editor: Well, considering it’s a note to the sexton, it feels…intimate, maybe? I'm imagining a personal exchange, not something formal. The everyday life in that era... Curator: Exactly. It gives us insight to the social structure in 1780s. Think about it, what are letters in the pre-digital era if not our connection to history and each other?   Editor: So, it's not just a note. It represents more about the social culture then. Curator: Precisely. It invites us to ponder the cultural narratives encoded within mundane communication. And what about the material itself - handmade paper - how does it strike you? Editor: The roughness of the paper definitely adds another layer to the "homemade" feel, making the historical gap between now and then seem closer. Curator: It grounds it, doesn’t it? Symbols work on multiple levels and our experience informs their context. Editor: So, looking closely, this is not just ink on paper, but a fragment of someone's life communicating with ours. Fascinating. Curator: Indeed. Now you are speaking as a true iconographer.