Brief aan anoniem Possibly 1917

Curator: Welcome to this close look at Theo van Doesburg's "Brief aan anoniem," a work believed to be from 1917. It's ink on paper, a drawing really, dense with both text and small diagrams. Editor: My first impression? It feels like looking into the mind of a mad architect! So crammed and intense, a swirling chaos of ideas trying to find form. Is it even art, or a coded message? Curator: Van Doesburg, a founder of De Stijl, used these drawings as an important tool for communicating his design ideas and theories, particularly relating to architecture and form. He wrote extensively to disseminate his ideas about neoplasticism. Editor: Neoplasticism, right. It’s like he’s dissecting a building, or a sculpture, into its most basic components. Those little sketches down below have the rigid geometry I associate with him...but then that handwritten script has this nervous energy, the polar opposite. Curator: Indeed, and his epistolary work in general highlights the role that letter writing played as an informal way of building networks and solidifying and advancing abstract theories in the early 20th Century. This particular letter offers some valuable insight. Editor: To be honest, I’m more drawn to the feeling the letter gives off more than the content it actually holds, or even the artist's intention, and the act of its making is the real art for me. The act of spilling his vision out onto the page... so imperfect, yet so vital. Curator: The visual analysis is fascinating. These writings really show that he wanted to build bridges between art and everyday life. Van Doesburg was interested in bringing new methods for thinking about composition in visual artwork. Editor: And seeing it today... It's a testament to how much the best art is truly of its time, but can still echo through the years. It invites questions instead of demanding answers. It feels intensely... human.