Tidstavle over H.C. Andersens liv 1866-1844 1930 - 1938

This is a page from a calendar of H.C. Anderson's life between 1866 and 1844, by Niels Larsen Stevns. The writing, rendered in strokes of dark ink on a sepia-toned page, has a real sense of urgency about it. I love the quality of the handwriting, how the loops and lines create a rhythm across the page. It reminds me that artmaking is so often about the process of making, the physical act of applying the ink, the way the nib of the pen might catch on the surface of the paper. You can almost feel the hand moving across the page, the pressure and release as the letters form. Look at the long, elegant descenders of the ‘g’ and ‘y’ characters, and then see how they are interrupted by the abrupt and blocky capitals. This is a dialectic in action, a conversation between freedom and constraint, accident and design. Like art, handwriting can embrace ambiguity, different readings and interpretations. What feels important is not so much the literal meaning of the words, but the sense of energy and movement they convey. It makes me think of Cy Twombly's calligraphic paintings or the diaries of Paul Klee. Art is an ongoing conversation.