Briefkaart aan Mien Cambier van Nooten Possibly 1937

This is the back of a letter card by Dick Ket, likely made around 1937. Immediately, our eye is drawn to the interplay of the script against the ground. Notice how the script is divided, both in composition and visual weight, with the sender’s address on the lower left, and the receiver’s address to the right. Ket has employed a formal structure akin to concrete poetry. The handwritten text, with its varied forms and pressures, becomes a visual element in itself. The stamp and postmark, each with a unique design, further enrich this field. This draws attention to the materiality of the card itself – the texture of the paper, the contrast between ink and surface. Ket challenges the traditional hierarchy between text and image. Is it a painting, a piece of correspondence, or both? This ambiguity underscores the deconstruction of conventional categories, inviting us to reconsider the essence of artistic communication. The card invites ongoing interpretation as it functions as a site of memory, communication, and artistic exploration.