Boompartijen 1939 - 2009

Kees Stoop made this small black and white drawing, "Boompartijen," using graphite or charcoal. I can picture Stoop outside, maybe on a park bench, quickly sketching these trees. Two scenes stacked on top of each other: the upper scene, a dense row of mature trees; below, the same scene years later, a sparser row of younger trees take their place. The energy of the drawing is in these loose marks, an attempt to describe a natural scene with simple strokes, that seem to capture the sensation of being outside. It reminds me a little of Symbolist artists like Odilon Redon, who found beauty in unassuming subjects. Drawings like these are part of an ongoing conversation among artists through time. When I look at it, I feel the possibilities that open up when we embrace uncertainty and allow for multiple interpretations. It's like Stoop is saying, "Here's what I saw, what do you see?"