woensdag 21 september 2011

Newspaper report catwalk Nordhorn




















On September 13th, a German newspaper called "Grafschaftlicher Nachrichten
(Tageszeitung für den Landkreis Grafschaft Bentheim)" carried this nice article
by reporter / photographer Judith Tolomello about the opening of my exhibition
at Friedag Augenoptik in Nordhorn. A rough translation goes as follows:

"Enchantresses" with visual aids
Dutch artist Rob van Dijk portrays women with glasses
"In my school days I wanted to become an optician". Rob van Dijk remembers
it well. "But after the final examination there was this father - son talk". It ended
with the father's decision that the son had to go to university instead. The dream 
of being an optician was far behind the horizon. Over four decades later, the
schoolboy of the day is standing in the town centre of Nordhorn, indulging his
childhood dream in his own individual, special way.
During all those years, Rob van Dijk collected ladies glasses. "One each week -
there are some 2000 pieces now", the Dutchman tells. A few years back his
hobby was broadened by adding portrait photography. But Van Dijk does not
settle for classic motives. Instead, he tries to show the world his view on society:
the beauty of women in glasses.
He now has a weblog on the internet, in which he publishes his portraits. He is
not just engaged in his art but also in the Third World: "I don't collect just for
myself. I also send glasses from my collection to those people".
The "glasses artist" is steadily gaining recognition for his work. The owner of
Friedag Opticians, whose premises are used by Rob van Dijk this day, is
impressed. "I have never experienced someone trying to bring forward very
strong glasses in such a positive way", Manfred Friedag tells us. Michael
Kolley who runs the Friedag shop, was a sceptic at first, but the Dutchman
convinced him fast with his cordial ways. Van Dijk succeeds in making other
people enthousiastic about his work, mainly by his own enthousiasm.
The artist is accompanied by four models for the small photo shoot in Nordhorn.
He portrays them for his weblog. One of the four ladies is his life partner Nel.
His photo shoots of ladies in prescription glasses started with her, a couple of
years ago. "She needs to wear quite strong glasses, Rx -11", he explains. But
in his eyes, Nel looks gorgeous, especially in glasses. The self confident models
put a spell on the spectators and it does not take them long to show that heavy
glasses are fashion accesories indeed. 
For Rob van Dijk, the glasses are even more than that. When asked about his
motives to live his hobby, the sympathetic Dutchman tells us about his late
grandmother. "In my eyes, she was a magician". She was able to push the
world away from her by putting on her glasses for long distance, and she
managed pulling the world towards her by putting up her reading glasses.
That's what Rob thought when he was a small child. But then he looked
around him in the streets and he soon realized that the world was full of
female magicians. His fascination with women in glasses remains till this day. 
"The models performing in a catwalk on the red carpet in front of the
camera of the artist who portrays the ladies for his weblog"
"The four models of artist Rob van Dijk are wearing only a tiny fraction
of his giant collection of 2000 glasses from many different decades"   

maandag 19 september 2011

Melissa 280





































This extraordinary, mysterious portrait of lovely Melissa in blended myodiscs concludes her photo shoot.

Readers with a scientific background, be prepared for a shock. There is proof that the "perpetuum mobile" is not a theoretical concept or a phantasy. It really exists and it's called Melissa.
A future scholar, a bass player in an all ladies rock band, a top model doing 100 photo shoots each year - it made me wonder, does this young lady ever sleep, and if so, how many hours has
the average Melissa day?

Melissa, it was my privilege and honour to work with you! All your posing is done with great confidence and ease, consistent yet achieving a beautiful variety - just dripping good looks, from
the start until the very end. I was especially impressed by your credible, natural looks in myodiscs and other strong glasses. There seemed to be no such thing as time during your photo shoot. You have a unique ability to make time stand still. Perhaps that's the receipt behind your "perpetuum mobile".

Experience, motivation, imaginative power and a natural talent for posing seem to be the cornerstones under your achievement. You managed to transform yourself with each new pair of glasses without losing your own unique identity. A real ambassador for eyewear and a joy to work with. It's a pity that I only discovered you starring in the Sander van Doorn video clip "Love is darkness" (1,4 million views) after our photo shoot. Melissa, you rock! If it ever comes to making a video clip of my song "Crystal Veil", I'll be knocking on your door :).

I don't compare the merits of models - there is no point - but it's safe to say that you set a new standard on this weblog. "Planet Myopia" Stephan, whose work was highly inspirational to me when I started my own project, put it like this: "You found the GLASSES FACE ever".

Melissa, I hope that we can work again in the future! In the meantime I wish you all the best with your umpteen other projects.
Hat off for this lovely, multitalented 31st Lady behind Crystal Veil!  

zondag 18 september 2011

Melissa 279





































Mysterious light effects in blended myodiscs supplied by the always reliable Martin from Köln, Germany. Equally - if not more - important is the superb posing by Melissa. Beyond words!

Melissa 278

























The first time I saw images like these was in a television
studio, about a year ago. The media showed a surprising
amount of interest in my exhibition at the culture centre "De
Vrijhof" in Enschede and it was quite enjoyable. RTV Oost
invited me in a talk show called "En dan nog even dit...." and
they asked me - at the very last moment - to bring along some
glasses from my collection. There was no time to select the
most suitable glasses so I grabbed a box filled with glasses
from a photo shoot with my model Marleen at lunchtime.... 
Marleen had posed in very strong glasses and you should have
seen the glassy eyes when I unpacked the box in the television
studio. Interviewer Carrie ten Napel is a very spontaneous young
lady and she put on four different pairs from the box, including
these blended myodiscs from Germany. When Carrie moved her
head, I noticed the weird effects of the studio lights in the Lentilux
lenses.

The weather was overcast during the photo shoot with Melissa so
the flash bulb in my camera started working. I decided to take the
gamble and see if some of the effects at the television interview
would come out. The results were even better than expected and
that's why this glorious photo shoot with Melissa ends with these
blended myodiscs.  

Melissa 277

























Glasses: nameless 1980's blended myodiscs (Lentilux)
[L: -16.25 / R: -17.25; c-2.00 o]

Melissa 276

























One of the many qualities of Melissa as a model is that
she was not shy when it came to this experiment with the
extreme side of my collection. She all took it wisely as a
bit of eccentric fun. Great!

Melissa 275

























Amused posing by Melissa in minus 27 Feizai myodiscs
supplied by SGS from China.

Melissa 274

























Powerful posing by Melissa behind a veritable wall of glass....

Melissa 273

























"Melissa goes extreme".... At Rx -27, these myodiscs by
Feizai are among the strongest glasses in my collection. 

Melissa 272

























These Feizai myodiscs were supplied by SGS (Steve's
Glasses Shop) from China.

Melissa 271

























Glasses: Feizai (myodiscs)
[L=R: -27.00]

Melissa 270

























..........

Melissa 269

























Melissa looking gorgeous in Zenni myodiscs, Rx -19.
It was hard for me to stop this series - I could have gone
on snapping forever....

Melissa 268

























........

Melissa 267

























.......

Melissa 266

























......

Melissa 265

























.....

Melissa 264

























....

Melissa 263

























Experience, motivation and imaginative power - the key
factors behind a tremendous photo shoot. Melissa has
all these properties in glorious plenty. Again, she looks
stunning in the Zenni myodiscs. There is no way of telling
that the glasses are seventeen diopters above her own mild
prescription. Enough narrative for now, once more I give
the floor to Melissa!

Melissa 262

























Even near the end of her epic photo shoot which lasted
six hours, Melissa kept producing natural, credible looks
as if her own prescription was -19 instead of -2. Quite an
impressive performance!

Melissa 261

























These beautiful myodiscs by Zenni were first shown by
Clarine, near the start of my previous weblog, and even
though my weblogs have over half a million page views now, 
her portrait remains number one in page views. Over a dozen
models posed in the Zenni myodiscs since and the results are
always beautiful. Here Melissa joins their ranks in her own
inimitable way.  

Melissa 260

























Great posing by Melissa in modern myodiscs by Zenni.
These myodiscs are a perfect example of the beauty of
a well chosen crystal veil. 

Melissa 259

























Glasses: Zenni 3310 (myodiscs)
[L: -19.25 / R: -19.75]

Melissa 258

























........

Melissa 257

























.......

vrijdag 16 september 2011

Melissa 256

























......

Melissa 255

























.....

Melissa 254

























....

Melissa 253

























Lovely, sweet posing by Melissa in blended myodiscs
by Nigura, Rx -18 / -19.
This narrative stops here for another while - all I can say is,
enjoy this unique model and her gorgeous way of posing
as Lady behind Crystal Veil!

Melissa 252

























Lens thickness in these blended myodiscs by Nigura is
only six millimeters and the lenses hardly stick out at the
back of the frame. 

Melissa 251

























A beautiful portrait of Melissa in another pair of blended
myodiscs from Germany, made by Nigura in the early or
mid 1990's. The discrete frame is ideally suited for lenses
with extreme prescriptions. Note the natural, credible look
produced by Melissa - you'd swear that these are her own
glasses. In reality, the Rx of these myodiscs is 17 diopters
above her own mild prescription. Hat off for Melissa!

Melissa 250

























Glasses: Nigura (Lentilux)
[L: -19.00 / R: -18.00]

Melissa 249

























Tsarevna Melissa - gorgeous posing in beautiful myodiscs
by Trend. We were fortunate with the lighting conditions
during the photo shoot. I am pleased with the light effects
in this section with the myodiscs.

Melissa 248

























"You've got this strange effect on me, but I like it...."

These lines were written by Ray Davies from the Kinks
in 1965 and subsequently recorded by singer Dave Berry
who hit the top of the charts in Holland with Davies' song.
A short while later, Berry paid a visit to Amsterdam and
the big Museumplein was filled with fans, waiting to see him.
It took me an hour to get out of that crowd with my bike.
A canal trip in a boat - done by the Beatles in the preceding
year - would have been more convenient for the Berry fans.
The song line ran into my head when I first saw this picture
of Melissa in the Trend myodiscs.

Melissa 247

























Another fascinating portrait of lovely Melissa in Trend
myodiscs, Rx -16. The image of her right eye is what may
be expected when posing in myodiscs but the image of her
left eye is doubled because of the lower position of the bowl.

Melissa 246

























These Trend myodiscs were used in five previous photo
shoots on my first weblog (Astrid, Conny, Farishta, Nanda
and Petra) and a portrait of Nanda was part of last year's
exhibition in Enschede and my current exhibition in Nordhorn.
Note the double image of Melissa's left eye, in the bowl and
in the surrounding carrier lens. The weird thing is that both
images seem to be connected here. An effect which I never
witnessed before. There is a first time for everything....

Melissa 245

























Another fine portrait of Melissa showing the somewhat
enigmatic position of the bowls in myodiscs by Trend.

Melissa 244

























Melissa looking gorgeous in 1990's Trend myodiscs
supplied by Martin from Köln, Germany. One of my
favourite portraits from this memorable photo shoot! 

Melissa 243

























The peculiar thing about these beautiful Trend myodiscs
is the difference in height between the bowls. The effect
is not unlike that of a prism, but my guess is that it is a
reject from an optician.

Melissa 242

























Glasses: Trend, early 1990's (Lentilux)
[L: -16.00; c-1.50 o / R: -16.00]

Melissa 241

























Melissa in Rodenstock glasses from circa 1980's - a great
combination and superb posing!

Melissa 240

























..........

Melissa 239

























.........

Melissa 238

























........

Melissa 237

























.......

Melissa 236

























......

Melissa 235

























.....