Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1918

This card was sent to Philip Zilcken, an artist like Adrienne s' Jacob, using the postal service. You can see the traces of its journey in the smudges, stamps, and handwriting. The uniform beige of the card is interrupted by brown and grey marks. The stamps are clearly defined, and the handwriting is neat and elegant. Think about how these graphic elements act as a kind of drawing, or a collage of different textures and tones. Consider the way that these are the product of a process, the accumulation of actions and events. How these elements were placed on the surface, and the impressions they made, like a form of expressive mark-making. The card reminds me a little of the work of Ray Johnson, who also used the postal service as a medium. Unlike Johnson's work, this card embraces the ordinary, finding beauty in the everyday. It's a reminder that art can be found in unexpected places, and that even the most mundane objects can be transformed through attention and imagination.