Briefkaart aan Willem Frederik Gouwe Possibly 1936 - 1937

Editor: This is a postcard to Willem Frederik Gouwe, possibly from 1936 or 37, created by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. It's a pen drawing on paper. It's just...a regular postcard, with handwriting and stamps. What grabs you about it? Curator: Well, the ubiquity of the postcard as a form actually presents an interesting challenge to our understanding of artistic media. We often segregate "high art" from the everyday. This challenges that. Editor: How so? Curator: The materials – paper, pen, even the adhesive used for the stamps – speak to mass production and dissemination. The means by which this message travels is tied to systems of labor, postal networks, and trade. It isn’t just a drawing; it's a small unit within a larger economic engine. What do those stamps tell us, besides just postage? Editor: The design is certainly of its time, reflecting design aesthetics from that era. There are even postal markings crossing through the stamps to evidence the journey it undertook. It reminds me how different the speed of communications was before the internet! Curator: Exactly. Roland Holst wasn't just sending a personal message; he was participating in and reflecting the social and material conditions of his time. This challenges us to rethink the postcard not just as a disposable item, but a small-scale expression of a bigger, interconnected system of creation, communication, and consumption. This shifts our focus from individual genius to broader contexts. Editor: That’s a fascinating way to consider something so ordinary! I will definitely rethink postcards from now on. Curator: And I hope you carry that kind of examination with you throughout art and life!