Aantekening uit archief Jan Veth 1865 - 1925

This is a sheet of paper, "Aantekening uit archief Jan Veth," by Jac van Looij. The most striking aspect of this artwork is the contrast between the rigid structure implied by the neatly stacked names and the unruly, dynamic script layered throughout. The composition is dominated by vertical columns of text, yet each inscription introduces its own rhythm, breaking the potential for monotony. We see words scored through, some circled, each a visual signifier that destabilizes any fixed reading. This piece is not merely a record, but a field of signs, an artwork in its own right. The materiality of the paper, its texture and tone, plays against the ephemeral nature of the handwritten word, suggesting a tension between document and expression. Consider how van Looij disrupts conventional notions of art and writing, and how this intersection might challenge our expectations of structure and meaning.