Briefkaart aan R.W.P. de Vries Jr. Possibly 1931

Curator: Right, let’s look at this interesting piece. It’s titled "Briefkaart aan R.W.P. de Vries Jr.," or Postcard to R.W.P. de Vries Jr., possibly from 1931, made with ink on paper. Editor: My first thought? A little peek into someone's life. It feels incredibly intimate, doesn’t it? Like stumbling across a forgotten letter in a dusty attic. The handwriting just adds to that sense of closeness. Curator: Precisely! It's a portrait in words, capturing the zeitgeist and cultural milieu of the time, but I guess there are some challenges for its legibility and translation nowadays. You know that it shows script typography, hand-lettering, aged paper and stylised text! Editor: True, it is a dense script and those dark-yellowish aged tints create an illusion that the script blends in to background; so even if there were many artistic aspects embedded here it can only trigger negative and slightly disturbing feelings because, visually speaking, it feels like you need some effort and strain in order to look at it. Curator: As an artistic exercise, I wonder: Can this be interpreted as something we should really consider? Is there some sort of cultural resistance? Is that a statement? Because, if not, is all down to something not visually attractive? Editor: Interesting question! Perhaps its beauty lies precisely in that challenge? The act of deciphering, the historical curiosity it awakens. Maybe it challenges our fast-paced digital consumption, inviting a slower, more thoughtful interaction. What is certain is that there are some challenges for us modern users to embrace, in some way, a work like this. Curator: I agree completely! A portal into the past, with many doors to other thoughts to the modern beholder. It is what is beautiful about art! Editor: Indeed! Well, thank you for this conversation! That makes me ponder the role of communication as art.