Vrije vogel 1975

Curator: What a stark and rather captivating print. Its minimalist approach really draws you in. Editor: Yeah, it's whispering, not shouting. The bird perched above the barred window—it’s got this yearning vibe, like a melancholic haiku. Is it called, uh… Curator: Yes, this etching, aquatint and collage in colour on paper is titled "Vrije Vogel," which translates to "Free Bird," made in 1975 by Harrie A. Gerritz. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: “Free Bird,” huh? The irony’s a bit heavy-handed, don’t you think? I get the symbolism – bird, cage, sky glimpsed through the bars, a longing for escape. But does it offer anything beyond that first, immediate reading? Curator: I think its power lies precisely in its formal simplicity, though. Note the interplay between the geometric grid at the base, contrasted against the more ambiguous texture surrounding the window. The surface is almost raw. These juxtapositions invite a slower reading, one concerned with form and not narrative. Editor: Hmmm…raw, you say? To me, it feels deliberately constructed, almost artificial. The gridded base is like… the floor of some gilded cage, a different kind of confinement altogether. The stark composition sort of deadens the feeling. Curator: But observe the material complexity. It’s not *just* etching; Gerritz employs a collage element, that intense, cloudless blue suggesting infinite space against the palpable, material reality of ink on paper. A constant oscillation, materially realized, between longing and constraint. Editor: Okay, I’ll grant you the visual tension, but even the collage bit, that square of blue, feels stage-managed. Like someone’s carefully placed a postcard of freedom, mocking the little guy. It almost feels passive-aggressive. Curator: I disagree entirely. It offers a concentrated articulation of binaries: freedom/captivity, nature/artifice, flatness/depth… All resolved with minimal gestures. Editor: I'm seeing its cleverness, definitely. Still makes me feel a little trapped, but maybe that’s the point. Curator: Indeed. It's a powerful, concise study in contrasts, wouldn’t you say? Editor: I will concede this free bird, at the very least, provoked a stirring thought or two, but not the desire of absolute freedom, for now.