Skitser af figurer og jolle. Notat 1905 - 1907

Curator: Welcome. Today we're looking at "Skitser af figurer og jolle. Notat" - a sketch, roughly translated as 'Sketches of figures and a yawl. Note', dating from 1905-1907, by Niels Larsen Stevns. It resides here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My first thought is that it feels like a fleeting moment, captured in pencil. You can almost feel the artist rapidly jotting down observations in their sketchbook. There is a sense of immediacy conveyed through such light materials, even with this grid background, what was its purpose here? Curator: The drawing is, in essence, just pencil on paper - humble, everyday materials really. The paper seems to be from a commonplace notebook, and it challenges our traditional notions about where high art is "allowed" to be made. Stevns probably carried this around. Editor: And did he plan to build up on these sketches or was it a process that lived on its own, a space for quick thinking? I am looking at a jolle - the yawl. I feel an inherent tension. Why just capture that symbol on its own without depicting a broader context? Curator: What interests me most is the way Stevns is utilizing such simple tools - line, tone, composition. There is nothing opulent here, rather a study in economy of means. His labor and the quicksilver decisions speak to something profound and grounded in practical reality. The materials themselves are not precious but carry within themselves a great meaning, for they give Stevns the possibility to work without restraints. Editor: Absolutely. I get the sense he is actively documenting his surroundings; I wonder what the emotional register might be to select this figure over others. This feels like memory trying to condense and distill essential visual experiences. Curator: Precisely, and by stripping it all back, the sketch embodies a kind of unadorned honesty. There is labor involved in choosing where to place these marks, the relationship to time becomes important: from labor to quick notation - it carries an intensity. The symbolism takes on new meanings as a product of its making, and its accessibility in simple terms and through accessible means is relevant. Editor: I see your point about honesty. These jottings possess an unpretentious and unassuming quality. These aren't grandiose statements but small gestures towards understanding life and visual experience through this selection of very peculiar items. A boat, for instance. Curator: To conclude, these simple sketches provoke larger questions about creativity itself. Stevns transforms these humble materials, this paper, into a space of creative inquiry. Editor: Yes, Stevns shows how everyday objects, when rendered as symbols, invite introspection on the world we build around us and what we give importance to.