Folder van de Vrijzinnig Christelijke Jeugd Centrale te Hilversum 1884 - 1952

This leaflet for the Vrijzinnig Christelijke Jeugd Centrale te Hilversum, made by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, presents a window into the past with its sketched images and bold lettering. I wonder about the process of designing this piece. What did De Vries want to convey and how did he arrive at these symbols? The layout is organized, yet has a whimsical, hand-drawn quality. Looking at the sketched-out images at the top and bottom, you can see the artist's process as he tries out different ideas before settling on the final composition. I like to imagine the artist at his desk, experimenting with different layouts and images, thinking about how to best represent the organization and appeal to the children it serves. It reminds me of Kurt Schwitters, a fellow artist interested in graphic design, who also saw the potential for everyday materials to be transformed into art. These artists are in conversation with each other across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. Isn’t painting and graphic design just another form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty?