Adresser 1937 - 1938

Curator: Here we have Niels Larsen Stevns’ work titled "Adresser" completed between 1937 and 1938. It’s currently part of the collection here at the SMK, made using pencil on paper. Editor: My first thought? This isn't just art, it's a time capsule! It feels incredibly personal, like I'm holding someone's intimate record of connections, little scraps of their daily life laid bare on this aged paper. Curator: Indeed. What we are looking at appears to be a page from an address book or notebook. Stevns’ decision to present this as a work of art elevates it beyond the mundane, doesn’t it? It also makes you think about the broader socio-political backdrop of Denmark in the late 1930s as he made the work. Who were these people? Were they artists, patrons, friends? How might have history treated them? Editor: It does! The almost careless scribbles make it intimate; names jotted down with an urgency, numbers scrawled, creating a tangible presence of those individuals. Pencil on paper emphasizes the fleeting nature of memory. Will these contacts endure, like this fragile page we are admiring today? And I love how seemingly ordinary this is; no pretension, no staged portraits; the absolute opposite of formality. Curator: The simplicity you highlight allows it to resonate even today, decades removed. This work presents itself not only as an aesthetic object, but as a piece of social history – an artifact that connects us to another time. Editor: Absolutely, you put that perfectly! And in viewing this, one wonders about how transient all our contact lists and connections are in today’s digital landscape. Are we collecting contacts or truly building connections that will stand the test of time? Okay, heavy thoughts for a casual notebook scribble, but here we are. Curator: That resonance is precisely what solidifies the artwork’s long-lasting public and cultural value. And hopefully what ensures future generations consider it too. Editor: I love that… a lovely consideration and lasting reflection. Thank you!