Editor's Notes

1. Handwritten Manuscript  -  Johannes always wrote notebooks and final manuscripts in excellent, almost calligraphic, handwriting. In later years his eyes were damaged by Macular Degeneration.  When he wrote this book, starting in 2010 and finishing in 2013, his final blindness was at mid-point and he could still write in script, though not as legibly as earlier.  He prepared his 12 Letters to Val Hall manuscript in notebooks, by pasting selected images into handwritten pages. When he decided to publish this work in print, as "the missing piece" in his series, he deliberately chose the final manuscript instead of transferring it into text font. Although his late script presents some difficulties for the reader, this is not a work which one reads "fast," and it was Johannes' wish that his commentary on Modern Art  "not resemble a thousand other books written already."
   
2. Johannes provided careful references in his text for all pictures by other artists.  Nonetheless, those interested can view "Illustrated Notes" in the section Book Ending for further details.
   

                                                                                                                                              Janet von Gumppenberg


Johannes' handwriting from a book-sized "Letter" sent to another friend in the 1990s: