Ornamentele rand met wapenschilden met dieren c. 1910

Bernard Willem Wierink made this ornamented drawing with coats of arms and animals, but when, I couldn’t tell you exactly! There's something about the way the red sits on the drab ground. It's not quite camouflage, but it's not exactly popping either. It’s like looking at a fresco or faded textile. The texture is kind of soft, and those heraldic animals are both clear and obscured, caught between worlds. I wonder if he used stencils? The drawing feels both considered and accidental, structured yet chaotic. The red band with shields and animals repeats and yet it is not exact, the patterns have an organic energy that keeps it from being too rigid or symmetrical. It is similar to the work of Hilma af Klint, in that it mixes recognizable patterns with more arcane or occult imagery. In art, the conversation between intention and chance, visibility and concealment, is one that keeps going.