Blad 9 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1930 - 1937

This page from the "Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage," made sometime between 1930-1949, is such an intimate, careful process of record-keeping. Look at the handwritten script, it speaks to a kind of attention we don't often see anymore. The texture of the paper and the faded ink are just beautiful. What strikes me is the handwritten script contrasted with the tiny photographs that are attached to each entry, it shows so well how different materials convey different kinds of information. The handwriting is so expressive, full of flourishes and personality, but the photos are more matter-of-fact. I wonder, what the lives of these women were like? Each one of those little photos represents someone's whole life, full of stories we'll never know. Thinking about other artists, someone like Christian Boltanski, who was so interested in archiving and memory comes to mind. Art's not just about making something new, but about remembering, too, right? And maybe that remembering is really about imagining.