Tidstavler med bl.a. diverse kunstner- og stednavne samt to diagrammer med bynavne 1913 - 1914

Curator: Let’s discuss J.A. Jerichau's, II, "Tidstavler med bl.a. diverse kunstner- og stednavne samt to diagrammer med bynavne," created between 1913 and 1914. We're looking at a work on paper using ink and pencil. What's your immediate impression? Editor: My first impression is… unease. It feels like a fragmented, almost desperate attempt to grasp at something intangible. There's a sense of historical reckoning but scrambled—the dates leap around. It suggests anxiety about time. Curator: I see what you mean. Look closely at the paper itself, its texture, the quick, almost frantic quality of the pencil and ink. It gives us insight into the physical act of creation and reveals the materials that Jerichau engaged. Paper wasn't just a passive support; it dictated the mark-making. What cultural echoes do you observe in these written traces? Editor: The dates – particularly around 1914 – point to the looming shadow of World War One. There's an undeniable sense of historical pressure being translated into this abstract form, this symbolic shorthand. Then the isolated names of places—England, France, et cetera—read almost like a listing of potential theatres for war. The visual diagram points out something akin to war events that were unfolding. It becomes a record of anxiety, etched directly onto the page, but mediated through visual symbolism. Curator: Exactly! This tension is critical, linking individual artistic practice and the political world—which is what really shapes art, it’s not made in a vacuum. How does the artwork communicate this? Think about accessibility versus elitism in material terms. Were pencil and paper easily accessible or considered craft materials? Editor: And if it's viewed as merely a list, almost administrative in function, does that downplay its value, or subtly underscore the weight of such calculations and records? In a way, he's forcing the symbolic value of information upon us. Curator: Precisely! It shows us a society attempting to classify everything to organize what’s inherently abstract—particularly time! The pencil strokes create an index of thought made manifest in our very touch as humans. Editor: A fascinating meeting point of macro-historical forces distilled into such a seemingly simple, individual act. I initially read disorder, but I see now there's an intention to capture the undercurrents of the world, and history at this key period. Curator: Ultimately, Jerichau presents both an intensely personal reflection of a key time and also underscores material and intellectual limitations inherent to our own making, doing, and knowing.