Brief aan Peter Vos Possibly 1957

Curator: Today we're looking at "Brief aan Peter Vos," possibly created in 1957 by Kees van Strien. It’s an ink drawing on paper. Editor: It feels so intimate. Looking at it, I immediately feel this sense of urgency, but also a deliberate care with each word, a connection being forged in real time. What are your initial thoughts on it? Curator: Indeed, the handwritten script immediately brings forth the artist’s voice. We see in it the echoes of Golden Age correspondence, though rendered here with a modern sensibility. It has the directness of a personal note, a familiar format, which invites a certain closeness. Editor: It’s more than just closeness—there’s vulnerability here, too. In the content I feel a plea or call, a reliance and relationship that speaks volumes of the artist in his time. The labor itself is striking, as are the words on what may be deeper social and artistic engagements, that feels incredibly salient given its possible time period. It situates van Strien’s artistry and thoughts within, and responsive to, specific cultural shifts. Curator: You bring up a great point about the text’s socio-historical framework. The use of language echoes traditions that place van Strien squarely within his cultural lineage; still the use of casual, colloquial terms disrupt the expected experience—giving it that intimate sensibility you rightly call our attention to. The symbolism of his act, that of the written word, is important; it has a tangible, permanent feel. Editor: Yes! Each sentence feels like it’s building towards an intended reaction or connection with its receiver; the text serves a specific interpersonal, communicative, even activist, intention that brings history into the here-and-now, creating an invitation for conversation. What the letter says is as impactful as how and why. Curator: What resonates with me is how we glimpse, within the script's formality and urgency, a bridge. The content becomes secondary; rather we note that connection can take form from cultural lineage and shared spaces. The images themselves act as a message or reminder across space and time. Editor: For me, what endures is that art such as "Brief aan Peter Vos" continues to prompt questions about influence, intentionality, and connection, but also access across generations of thought—allowing for radical new ways to understand history, theory, and our own present-day cultures.