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Epistolary

Water Tower

by Joel Holub

In his multimedia epistolary project, Joel Holub shares a watercolor painting and its handwritten companion letter originally sent in 2010. Here Holub introduces the concept of the “mindshot,” a painting done from memory that attempts to capture not only the look but also the feeling of that memory. Holub details through his letter the memory of a water tower from his childhood and suggests the painting’s accuracies and its shortcomings, highlighting the gaps between reality, memory, and artistic representation. As a piece in dialogue with the painting, this letter expands what is possible in the epistolary form, invoking not only the visual arts but also recalling a postcard or a museum plaque. Together, “Water Tower” foregrounds a relationship between the visual and the literary united by the privileging of sense memory. Holub’s comic “Robert Morris Story” was published in Volume 75 Number 1.

Joel Holub is an artist based in Berlin, specializing in graphic storytelling, small-scale paintings, and sculptures (and this side project). Prior to 2019, he lived and worked in New York City, where he created and exhibited his art. Since moving to Berlin, he has also become a tour guide, weaving history and memory into his storytelling. His recent work explores the intersection of visual art and narrative, blending personal and collective histories.