Annotaties 1921 - 1922

Editor: This is Isaac Israels's "Annotaties," made between 1921 and 1922, using ink on paper. It feels quite intimate, almost like a private thought. What do you see in this piece beyond just notes on paper? Curator: This drawing provides a peek into Israels's creative process, doesn’t it? The modernists were often interested in deconstructing traditional notions of art. So, it prompts us to consider: whose stories and voices are typically excluded from formal art historical narratives? How might something like a personal sketchbook, filled with seemingly mundane observations, challenge these exclusions? Editor: I see what you mean. It feels like it's challenging the idea of art needing to be grand or public. The personal IS political? Curator: Exactly. The intimism expressed here is also a resistance against the grandiose. By focusing on everyday experiences, Israels subtly critiques prevailing power structures. His choice of language, presumably his native tongue, also signals a turning away from colonial art and education models. Does this give you new ways of approaching this drawing? Editor: Definitely. Seeing it as an intentional artistic statement rather than just some idle jottings, and connecting it to broader decolonizing and power dynamic narratives… I hadn't thought of it that way. Curator: Right. And understanding the historical context enriches our reading of this drawing; Israels could be subverting conventional notions of whose voice, whose language, whose perspective counts. What previously may have seemed incidental can become rather profound, through engagement with political and feminist ideas. Editor: I am seeing that everyday ephemera can speak volumes about resistance and cultural identity. Thank you. Curator: Thank you. This was insightful for me too!