Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1923

This letter by Rose Imel to Philip Zilcken, was written with ink on paper in 1923. The script is looping and gestural. It's as if the words are dancing across the page. The thing about letters, especially handwritten ones, is the way they capture a moment. The varying pressure of the nib leaves behind a personal, material record of the writer’s passing thoughts. You can almost feel Imel's hand moving, the slight tremor or the confident sweep of a flourish. It's a tactile experience, even from a distance. In the top right, see how the ink pools slightly? It gives depth to the image, and provides a personal touch. I’m reminded of Cy Twombly's scrawls, where writing becomes drawing, and drawing becomes a kind of intimate, coded language. Neither Imel nor Twombly present a fixed meaning; instead, they invite us to participate in the unfolding of their thoughts, their own particular way of seeing and feeling.