The town we live in has an old, respected amateur photo club with the pompous name 'Circle of Light'. Every year, they hold an exhibition of their members' best work. Every year, the soup becomes thinner as the majority of the members reach their sixties or seventies. The club never made the transition to the cyber-world where young photographers can be found nowadays.
Rick's father used to be a member, and we got a phone call from the president of the club, an old friend of the family. The question was if we couldn't lend a few pictures for the exhibition and call it a retrospective. Of course Rick accepted. He was even a bit moved by the invitation.
The president came to our flat, and they selected several pictures over a few strong beers. It was then that Rick asked if he could add some of his photos to the exhibition. This was highly irregular. Rick wasn't a member, and the club committee had to formally decide if they were going to accept the exception or not. Well, added Rick maliciously, if you really want my father's pictures, you'll have to add some of mine as well.
The
vernissage
was a big social event. The alderman of arts and culture gave a speech praising the quality of the pictures. The mayor was there, the opposition was there. Local television and the press were there. It occurred to us that Rick's pictures had quite an attraction. He had chosen three nudes, baptised the
DΓ©esse
triptych.
People would come up to him and congratulate him on his work. Then their eyes would fall on me, realising I was the model. I gladly accepted the many compliments. The president told us that Rick's pictures were the best that year. He didn't win first prize for the simple reason that he wasn't a member, so he received a member card for next year's exhibition. The alderman told us that the local museum bought the triptych for its collection. We had a lot of cheap champagne.
Back at our flat, we were out of our clothes before we reached the living room. Rick grabbed his camera and took pictures that the respectable photo club would never allow. We made love three times before entering the bedroom. Then some more. Just one of those crazy nights.
A couple of weeks later, we were contacted again by the Circle of Light. This had been the best exhibition in years and several new people had signed in. Rick's
DΓ©esse
- mildly censored - was shown on local TV, and it was in the newspapers. The city museum didn't move the triptych to the cellar as usual, but put it on its walls, at least for a while. Rick sold a few to patrons from the neighbourhood.
The president of the photo club didn't have a question for Rick, but one for me. Would I, uhm, consider modelling for the members of the club? Obviously, I was flattered until he more or less revealed that it had to be nude or at least topless. It would give the club the extra boost it needed so much. Getting nude models was really, really hard. Especially unpaid ones.
I have no problems being naked. I've been to a nude beach a couple of times, and a sauna, but this was on another level. Rick and I thought it over. He had no objections, but I suspect he really kicks on that kind of thing. After a while, I gave in as well. Art for art's sake, isn't it?
That Saturday afternoon, the club had fifteen people who all wanted to shoot me. It was actually a bit too crowded, with people almost fighting to get me at a good angle. The camera clicks, the lights, the hissed profanities between members; it all added to an atmosphere that made me feel wanted.
I took off my bra and the room suddenly got hotter. Rick was taking pictures as well, not of me, but of the other photographers who all wanted to create "art".