Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1923 - 1925

Editor: Here we have Alphonse Stengelin’s "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," created sometime between 1923 and 1925. It’s a mixed media piece – drawing, ink – on paper, a handwritten letter in beautiful calligraphy. There's a delicate texture in the paper. What strikes you about this work? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to the materiality of this piece, the raw presence of the paper itself. It’s not just a surface for conveying information but an active participant in the creation of meaning. What kind of labor went into producing this paper? Where was it made? How does its texture affect the absorption and flow of the ink? These questions speak volumes about the value assigned to communication and artistic exchange at the time. Editor: So you're thinking about the value inherent in both the creation and delivery of the message itself? Curator: Precisely. The ink, too, its composition and source. Was it mass-produced, or carefully crafted? The choices made in procuring these materials reflect the artist's intent and perhaps, even the recipient's perceived status. It moves us beyond the literal message and prompts us to examine the material conditions that enabled its existence. What was the socio-economic relationship between Stengelin and Zilcken? These factors would greatly influenced the production. Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the material production involved beyond just the artistic execution. Curator: Think about the time embedded in calligraphy, the slow, deliberate application of ink to paper. It's a direct contrast to the mechanization and mass production that was emerging. This artwork then, in a way, resists that acceleration by emphasizing a handcrafted, individual expression through materiality. Editor: I’ll never look at a letter the same way again! Thank you! Curator: My pleasure, thinking about how and why things were made changes how we percieve their existence.