Nel 418

This fine portrait of "living art" Nel in Metzler glasses from the 1970's concludes this improvised photo shoot.
Thank you so much, dear Nel, for your inspiration, creative ideas and for your continuous support!

A word of thanks to Udo Feitsma (publicity and marketing, Kunsthal KADE) for his permission to use the art hall for our experiments with "glasses art". We will be back!
For more information about this beautiful art hall and its exhibitions, check www.kunsthalkade.nl

Also I wish to thank the real artist, Henk Visch, for his kind permission to post the pictures of his wonderfully inspirational sculptures. Much appreciated!

Nel 417

Another portrait of Nel as a living sculpture behind walls of glass. We both enjoyed the fun experiment suggested by my creative partner.

Nel 416

People wearing glasses are often called "four eyed" but there is no harm in improving a fine quote so here is Nel posing as a "twelve eyed" lady. When I was a child, one of my school teachers always told us that she had another pair of eyes at the back of her head so she was able to watch our behavior constantly. She was myopic and always in strong cat eye glasses but I never saw a second pair on the back of her head. My conclusion was that she only had frontal myopia although this assumption is not backed by solid scientific research.

Nel 415

Nel has always been a creative lady and she is not shy to experiment. Great!

Nel 414

Last year a reporter in a German newspaper described me as the "glasses artist" so my models may be called "living art". Nothing wrong with that, especially when working with one's own partner!

Nel 413

A close up picture of Nel posing with four glasses from different decades while paying attention to the surroundings in the art hall. The contrast in styles is always an interesting part of my photo shoots of "Ladies behind crystal veil".

Nel 412

A radiant looking Nel in narrow framed Metzler glasses from the 1970's, supplied by the always reliable Martin from Köln, Germany. The Rx of the lenses is a touch below the model's own prescription.

Nel 411

Piles of stones on the sculpture's head, piles of glasses on the model's head, it's all a matter of balance. It was Nel who came up with this great idea. Thank you, dear!

Nel 410

Glasses: Metzler, 1970's
[L: -11.25; c-0.50 h / R: -10.25]

"Too bad that men are often so impatient with a lady when she is selecting her favorite pair of glasses for the day.... Even sculptures of men are walking away these days. What happened to chivalry? Anyway, this sculpture seems to be more indulgent so I will pose with him instead".

Nel 409

"Dear lady, are you coming along with me or not? I can't wait forever with the heavy load on my back until you have made your choice from your pile of glasses".

Nel 408

Glasses: Zenni 2611
[L: -11.00 / R: -11.75]

Of all the sculptures by Henk Visch in art hall "KADE", his series of little men carrying piles of stones was highly inspirational to me. Being a mountain climber of sorts since my childhood, the feeling of a heavy rucksack is a part of the adventure in the Alps. Nel and I decided to try a series in which the weight of the stones in the Visch sculptures is matched by the weight of dioptres in a glasses quartet. Here Nel is posing in a modern Zenni glasses close to her own prescription, looking at a pair of Metzler glasses from the 1970's in her right hand. The glasses on top of her head and in her left hand were both made by Rodenstock ("Bettina" series) in the 1980's. The picture captures a moment of apparent indecision not unlike that of a lady standing in front of her wardrobe in the morning. Needless to say, my models are never in shortage of great eyewear.

Nel 407

Glasses: Zenni 3391
[L: -13.00 / R: -12.00]

KADE is Dutch for Quay and indeed, the art hall is located on the quay at borders the medieval part of Amersfoort. Nel was more comfortable with the eyesight provided by these modern Zenni glasses than in the preceding picture with the vintage Jill Sander pair. I like the way she poses at the foot of the giant "weather proof" sculpture by Henk Visch.

Nel 406

Glasses: Jill Sander, early / mid 1990's

[L: -8.75; c-3.75 o / R: -7.50; c-2.50 v]

Nel posing outside Kunsthal KADE in front of another giant sculpture by Henk Visch. The Jill Sander glasses were given to me by a friendly optician in Germany and not used in previous photo shoots. The cylinders in the lenses are rather strong and Nel is holding her head, suggesting that this was perhaps a bit too much. 

Nel 405

Nel and I are a seasoned model - photographer team and most of the ideas during this improvised photo shoot came from the model's side. In fact, we paid the visit to Kunsthal KADE to enjoy the art works but also to check if the location would be suitable for a photo shoot with a freelance model which was arranged for the next Wednesday. The KADE staff were most helpful, allowing us to use their location but I decided to take the pictures without the tripod.

Who's afraid of blue, blue and blue?

Nel posing in her own Zenka glasses behind another art work by Henk Visch. The title of this picture speaks for itself and no, it's not the name of the art work.

Sculpture, model, photographer and invisible professor

Glasses meet art.... this picture of Nel and her devoted court photographer was taken by a former professor at my university who kindly sent me this picture after our chance meeting at Kunsthal KADE. Life is full of pleasant surprises.

Photo: Peter Jan Schellens

Nel 404

Nel posing in front of a giant armless sculpture by Henk Visch. The glasses are a recent arrival from Zenni, ordered with Nel in mind. She liked the glasses and I subsequently ordered them for her as sunglasses in her own prescription. Zenni does not manufacture varifocal lenses above -10.00 so I ordered two pairs, one for long distance and one for close work. So far Nel had only used sun clips on her glasses and she was delighted with her new sunglasses. Not to be outdone I ordered a pair of varifocal sunglasses for myself. Convenient when one is recovering from a bad concussion....

Nel 403

Glasses: Zenni 279918

[L=R: -8.00]

Nel 402

Glasses: Zenni 2611

[L: -11.00 / R: -11.75]

Nel posing in front of a rather sad looking giant sculpture by the great Dutch artist Henk Visch.

Nel 401

Aside from the photo shoot in Ireland, last summer in her new glasses, this was the first time Nel posed for me in 18 months. The advantage of this long interval was that a dozen glasses around her own prescription had been added to my collection. The remarkable thing about these simple yet refined Zenni glasses is that they don't really show the strength of the high index lenses (-11.00 / -12.00). Very discrete indeed.

Nel 400

Another fine picture of Nel posing with a patient sculpture made by Henk Visch whose great solo exhibition is on display at KADE for no less than four months.  

Nel 399

Glasses: Zenni 3818 / 8818
[L: -11.00 / R: -12.00]

"How are you, pal?". Nel looking at the Henk Visch sculpture from a different angle and through glasses that gave her much better eyesight than the previous pair by Menrad. These subtle, refined Zenni glasses, fitted with 1.67 high index lenses, are a favorite among my models and one of them recently selected the glasses for use in everyday life.

Nel 398

Glasses: Menrad, 1980's
[L: -5.50; c-1.75 v / R: -11.75; c-0.75 o]

Nel posing with a fine sculpture by Henk Visch in art gallery KADE, Amersfoort. It's always handy to have a good indoor location available for a photo shoot in case of bad weather. The glasses were sent to me by Stephan from Bavaria, one of my favorite photographers. The six dioptres difference between both lenses must have been a handicap for the first owner of the glasses. The right lens is not far from Nel's own prescription but the left lens is far too weak and she was glad when she could switch to a different pair that provided a better balance.

Nel 397

Photo shoot: March 24th, 2012
Location: Kunsthal "KADE", Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Sculpture by Henk Visch
Glasses: Zenni 3390 [L: -13.00 / R: -12.00]