Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1918 - 1921

This is a postcard to Philip Zilcken made by Dr. van Leeuwen, sometime around 1918, using ink on paper. You can see the stamp in the upper right corner, and other markings, and what I love is the way the ink kind of bleeds into the fibers. It gives it this soft focus effect, like a memory. There’s a physical quality to the writing, you can almost feel the pressure of the pen. It’s like a little performance, and it reminds us of all the human labor that goes into communication. Each stroke of the pen, each carefully chosen word, it's all part of a process. The overall effect is pretty humble. There's no striving for perfection here, and that’s why it’s so beautiful. You can feel the humanity in every little imperfection, and it kind of reminds me of the work of Cy Twombly, in that it shows how art is an ongoing conversation across time. It's all about embracing ambiguity and seeing where it takes you.