Brief aan Willem Bogtman Possibly 1923 - 1926

Curator: Editor: Here we have "Brief aan Willem Bogtman," possibly created between 1923 and 1926 by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. It's an ink and pen drawing on paper. There’s something very personal and fragile about seeing handwriting like this. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: As a materialist, my gaze immediately falls to the process of creation. Consider the labor: the selection of the pen, the mixing or sourcing of the ink, the sourcing of the paper. Each is a deliberate act shaped by social and economic forces of that time, impacting the work's accessibility. Even the act of writing a letter in ink signifies something now lost to the age of digital communication. Do you think the medium informs the content of the letter itself? Editor: That's a great point! It makes me wonder about the relationship between the materials and the message. The formality and permanence of ink on paper versus the ease and ephemerality of email or text… Perhaps that imposed a certain intention on Holst. Do you see any indications that this could be draft work of any sort? Curator: Interesting thought. It’s difficult to say definitively if this is a draft. One can consider the relationship between 'high art' and the act of 'correspondence' blurring, as the labour and means to create art becomes the communication. Do you find yourself attributing artistic significance simply because it's in a museum? Editor: Definitely something to think about. I appreciate the emphasis on materials, labour, and its cultural value of physical correspondence as an art. It changes my appreciation for it. Curator: And I think considering the gesture and intention of personal communication provides a unique lens when viewing art made of such common, accessible means. A simple piece becomes much more.