Kaart van Noord- en Zuid-Holland

This map of Noord- and Zuid-Holland 'For walkers and cyclists', was printed by J. Smulders & Co, at some point, we don't know precisely when. The off-white paper feels like a ground, a surface, rather than something immaterial, doesn't it? It's almost as if the map has been pulled up from the earth itself. The typography feels surprisingly gestural, like a deliberate markmaking; the map is a printed object but also something more handmade. Look at the stain there, by the price, '40 Cts'. Imperfect. This reminds me of those Mel Bochner prints made with imperfections and errors celebrated as part of the work, or maybe even some of Bas Jan Ader’s sad and beautiful falling gestures. The map doesn't hide its processes, instead it's all there on the surface. It makes me think about how art often embraces chance and accident, and how these can lead to new ways of seeing and experiencing the world.