Annotaties c. 1915 - 1920

Willem Witsen made this page of annotations with ink on paper, but when, we don't know. The sums are added to the paper with a scratching frenzy, they look like they've been made by someone in a hurry! I can see someone making them, with a pen in hand, brow furrowed. Maybe he's double-checking his sums...or working out the cost of something for his household. The sums are layered on top of each other in a dense visual texture. It reminds me how artists mark make and play with numbers and equations like On Kawara, whose art touches on themes of time, awareness, and the human condition. Artists often engage in these silent conversations across time, influencing each other's approach to mark-making, line, and composition. It's a reminder that art is not created in a vacuum but is part of an ongoing cultural exchange. For me, a piece like this invites you to meditate on math, error, and the embodied experience of calculation.