Adresser 1905 - 1907

Editor: So, this is "Adresser," a drawing in ink on paper by Niels Larsen Stevns, from between 1905 and 1907. It looks like a page from a notebook filled with names and addresses. The overall feeling is…ordinary, almost mundane. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: The mundanity is precisely where the power lies. Lists of names and addresses are, on the surface, simple tools for connection. But think of the cultural memory embedded within each name, each street. What stories are attached to "Thomas Gilharl, Gasvorks vej 8 OIII?" Editor: Stories? You mean like imagining who these people were? Curator: Exactly. Consider the power held in the written word itself. In 1905, writing these addresses cemented social connections. This page functions as a symbol for the community Stevns lived within. Does the act of carefully recording these details change our perception of how communication methods hold emotional significance? Editor: So it's not just a random list, it’s a snapshot of a community frozen in time. It kind of reminds me of a census or something. It's interesting to think about how much history can be held in such a simple document. Curator: Precisely. Visual symbols are always tied to shared cultural experiences. How does the simplicity of this record speak to the broader human desire for connection and documentation, in art and in everyday life? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered it like that before, seeing art in something so…utilitarian. I'll definitely look at address books differently now! Curator: Indeed, every object carries the weight of our shared past.