Drie motieven met torusknopen c. 1890 - 1922

This is 'Drie motieven met torusknopen', or 'Three Motifs with Torus Knots', by Johanna van de Kamer. You can see the graphite softly smudging across the page, building up depth and shadow that gives this the illusion of depth. I can imagine Van de Kamer, pencil in hand, carefully building up these forms, trying out a series of variations, almost like a scientist exploring a hypothesis. What does it mean to take something soft like fabric and turn it into a solid form? She’s playing with the push and pull between two and three dimensions. The way she varies her strokes, from light hatching to darker shading, makes me think about the way the light might be hitting these forms, highlighting their curves and edges. It is a conversation across time, between artist and viewer, a reminder that we are all connected through the act of making and seeing.