Letters 1920

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof made this drawing, 'Letters', sometime around the turn of the last century. Look at those graphite letters marching down the grid; they seem to be practicing their posture, getting ready for a big performance. I feel like Dijsselhof is lost in thought, patiently coaxing these forms into being. He's following the underlying grid, yet the letters have so much variation. I imagine him pondering the weight of each line, the curve of each serif. Is it a T or an I? An N or an S? He's not just copying letterforms, he's feeling their way through them, rediscovering them as if they're ancient artifacts. There is a sense of rhythm in the repetition of forms. They remind me of the letterforms of Hilma af Klint, as though through these shapes, they are both trying to decipher the underlying order of the universe. Artists are always in conversation. Dijsselhof’s letters are a testament to the power of simple forms to convey complex ideas. It's a reminder that even the most structured systems can contain infinite possibilities.