Letter from Hans Werner Geerdts to J.P. Hodin

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[Transcription/translation]

5.10.78

dear joseph,

thanks for your september letter.

unfortunately i still can’t send you the catalogue… i don’t know why the work is taking so long?

i’m glad to hear you have fond memories of marrakech. i didn’t know about the death of pierre the manager. and john ? (the sculptor) has capitulated. there are hours when i can understand ‘that’ sometimes.

now… marrakech… i’m sending photographs of my recent work: the armies of officials, the regulated society, the positions vacant etc. mostly collage on/with newspaper… then a few ‘fair copies’ transferred to canson paper (which is no better).

this ‘litter’ is called ‘bilder aus der provinz, die menschlicher seiten‘ [paintings from the provinces, the sides of man]. i want to show these thirty (or so) sheets together as a group… with the (ten) hessian sack pictures… would that be possible? when i’m in germany i’ll ask frau dr. e. weiss (sammlung ludwig, cologne). ideally it would be at a museum or an art association or gallery. as i said, these are the response to my european experience. or do you think i can write to darmstadt or düsseldorf? well, i suppose i can try.
…
my name is in the baumeister catalogue from the tübingen exhibition, by dr. g. adriani. year ?? incidentally, i received news that frau baumeister has died. the estate now falls to frau felicitas karg-baumeister, her daughter. i mention this only in passing.

i’m still full of admiration for the incredible capacity of your memory, for you hardly took any notes when i recounted my curriculum for you (in the bar of the es-saadi), and yet you remembered everything. and it’s more than admiration. i’m actually envious, because i now realise that while you wrote everything down correctly, i still don’t have all the correct dates in my head… and so i’ll go through these pages with you again so i don’t get any of the dates wrong.

in any case, it wasn’t written in vain. if the text isn’t in this catalogue, it will be in the next.

by the way, like you, i’m excited to see how the catalogue will be printed. i entrusted the matter to someone in kiel.

thanks for the kind words. i have in fact found my equilibrium here again.

my heartfelt best wishes to you and yours – for good health, productivity and joy.

most sincerely yours,

hans geerdts

p.s. i’ve tried to write clearly… hopefully you’ll be able to read my writing

please take good care of the photos…

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