Kerktoren 1890 - 1946

Editor: This drawing, titled "Kerktoren," by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, dating from around 1890 to 1946, really captures my attention. It's a simple pencil and ink sketch, yet it somehow conveys the monumentality of the church tower. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The tower, of course, speaks of aspiration. Its verticality, even in a sketch, is powerful. Churches throughout time are more than mere buildings. Consider the tower as a phallic symbol or a symbol of dominance. The placement of the cross at its pinnacle also signals redemption and a bridge to the divine. What thoughts arise when you view it that way? Editor: So, it's about reaching towards something greater? I guess I was more focused on the drawing style itself and the implied realism, but seeing it as a symbolic structure shifts my perspective. It becomes less about architecture and more about belief. Curator: Exactly! And Vreedenburgh, by choosing this subject and presenting it in a sketch format—suggestive rather than definitive—invites us to contemplate our relationship with these symbols and what they evoke in our shared consciousness. Don’t you agree? Editor: That’s a good point. I hadn’t considered how the "sketchiness," the unfinished nature, also contributes. Curator: The unfinished nature keeps it alive. A space for reflection. It preserves the immediacy of thought and inspiration; hence we can insert ourselves in that liminality of thought and make it our own. It opens doors into dialogues about society and culture and asks what we deem important enough to build toward. Editor: I can see how Vreedenburgh uses this particular medium to express complex feelings about the construction of both buildings and belief. That's amazing, I am definitely leaving with new thoughts! Curator: Indeed. Each line carries centuries. We discover we aren't so different.