Kalenderbladen van augustus, november en december, met vogels 1901

Editor: This is "Kalenderbladen van augustus, november en december, met vogels," calendar pages for August, November, and December with birds, made by Theo van Hoytema in 1901. It's a print – a woodblock print, I believe. It gives a kind of antiquated, almost melancholy feeling, despite being a calendar. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a work deeply engaged with the means of production and its place within a specific social context. Consider the choice of woodblock printing. This wasn’t merely about aesthetics, but also about accessibility. Calendars weren’t high art objects but functional items for a burgeoning middle class. Editor: So, the material itself speaks to its purpose? Curator: Precisely! Van Hoytema isn’t just creating a pretty picture. The very nature of the woodblock, its capacity for mass production, democratizes art and brings it into daily life. Look at the stylized birds – these are images made for reproduction and wide distribution. What's fascinating to me is how it blurs the line between craft and "high art." He's using the tools and methods of commercial production to create something that's also aesthetically engaging. Editor: So, the calendar is almost subverting its own function, or at least elevating it? By drawing attention to the methods involved in its creation. Curator: Exactly. We're compelled to consider the labour involved in each stage, from the carving of the block to the eventual consumption of the calendar itself. The piece acts as a point to address materiality and process over the subject. This gives even a mundane functional thing some aesthetic, almost artistic value. Editor: I never considered how the calendar's method of production can actually enhance and influence the intention behind the work. I’ll keep that in mind next time. Thanks! Curator: And I will remember the aesthetic engagement too. Thank you!