Krantenknipsel uit archief Philip Zilcken Possibly 1928

This is a newspaper clipping from the Philip Zilcken archive. It's an anonymous work, printed on paper with ink, and is more an artefact than artwork, but let’s take a look. The images are intriguing. We see a classical figure, and two heads constructed from geometrical shapes. The texture of the newsprint reminds us this was once part of a daily ritual, something disposable, not precious. Yet, here it is, preserved. I'm drawn to the way the ink sits on the page, slightly uneven. The lines of text press against each other, and the images look like a puzzle. Art is like that too: taking something ordinary and turning it into something that makes you pause and think. It’s something like what Kurt Schwitters was doing, and later Rauschenberg, taking the ephemera of daily life and turning it into art. This clipping, with its layers of information and imagery, invites us to find our own meaning within its folds.