Omslagontwerp voor: Wendingen, augustus 1918 1918

Curator: Ah, this graphic piece hits me right away. It's like visual jazz, unexpected and moody! Editor: Indeed! What we have here is a cover design, a striking poster crafted by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet. It's called "Omslagontwerp voor: Wendingen, augustus 1918". Made in 1918, this is a monochrome artwork using graphic-art techniques. Curator: August 1918… That’s right in the middle of the Great War, isn't it? Does that bleakness seep into the inky abstraction, do you think? Those bold shapes are both intriguing and vaguely menacing, as though beauty and destruction are embracing. Editor: War definitely marked its period. And look at the symbols that structure the composition here. Note the geometric features interwoven within this piece. Its symbolic potential might have resonated in ways that connected directly to the events shaping that time. I can read an emblem of resilience, or perhaps one of veiled defiance. Curator: It feels almost like a coded message! That central white form—two interlocking loops—feels primal. A stylized dance? Or the artist playing on ideas of duality: a binding, a struggle? Editor: Consider also the publication Cachet designed this for: “Wendingen,” meaning “Turnings” or "Changes”. What could this tell us? This periodical championed the avant-garde, embraced innovation, so Cachet’s design speaks to that ethos. It encapsulates the moment while hinting at what's next. Curator: That makes perfect sense. This isn’t just about pretty aesthetics. It’s pushing boundaries, questioning established visual language… the title has "Wendingen", and so the image invites change itself. It is very exciting! The raw, almost brutal application of ink mirrors the urgency of those years. Editor: There's an argument that during times of chaos, symbols take on deeper, perhaps more urgent meanings. They act as anchors, visual shorthand for complex feelings. Cachet's work is about how symbols work psychologically in our lives. Curator: True. And personally, I'm getting new meaning and insights into those inky depths. So much packed in that little space! Editor: Absolutely! Thank you for walking with me on this artwork's “turning," as Cachet would appreciate us doing.