De Klok der Keuze Possibly 1917

Editor: This is "De Klok der Keuze," possibly from 1917, by Albert Plasschaert. It's a linocut print, and it really strikes me as a chaotic landscape, all frantic lines. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Chaos, yes, but perhaps organized chaos? It's like a fever dream of nature, isn't it? Look at how the lines seem to pulse from a central point, almost like an explosion frozen in time. And "The Clock of Choice"—doesn’t that just drip with early 20th-century anxiety? Editor: It does. Is the choice here the clock of mortality during the war, always counting down? Curator: Maybe. Or maybe it's about the choices artists themselves were making, the jarring move from traditional representation toward abstraction and emotional rawness, expressionism and such. You know, I almost feel like I'm staring into the mind of someone grappling with those artistic dilemmas, wouldn't you agree? The franticness of the line, it isn't so much about what you literally see as what you feel. It is so wonderfully terrible! Editor: That makes total sense. It's interesting how the title contrasts with what seems like a total loss of control within the artwork itself. Curator: Exactly. The linocut technique also amplifies this. The starkness, the black and white—it isn't messing around! What if this image isn't just a choice for Plasschaert, but he wants us to choose a side too. Editor: That’s something. I never thought a landscape could make me feel like I needed to pick a side. Curator: Ah, that's the beauty of art. It sneaks up on you, changes your perspective, all without you even realizing. It almost becomes an accomplice in how you feel about your own reality. What a world, right?