Ontwerp voor een feestprogramma ter gelegenheid van de geboorte van prinses Juliana 1909

This "Ontwerp voor een feestprogramma" was made in 1909 by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, probably with ink on paper. I think that the piece makes an argument for process, in how the grid constrains, but also enables, this invitation. The texture here is really about the underlying grid, which gives a kind of a mathematical feel to the whole thing. I love how the squares in the border mirror this, creating a kind of frame-within-a-frame effect. Like, are the letters trapped, or being supported? The limited palette of black and red on the gridded paper lends a graphic quality, almost like a blueprint for a celebration. I like to think about Hilma af Klint when I look at this, especially her instructional diagrams. Both artists tap into this idea of a visual language to convey abstract ideas. Art doesn't have to be about answers, right? It's about the questions we ask along the way.