Karl Gerstner

Karl Gerstner, Linsenbild MAT (Lens image MAT), 1964

Karl Gerstner’s Linsenbild MAT consists of a Plexiglas lens mounted on a wooden box, inside of which sits a small lightbulb that can be turned on to illuminate the lens. Viewers were intended to choose among six different paper cards printed with black-and-white geometric patterns. The cards sit on two hooks inside of the box. When viewed through the round lens the patterns became distorted, as the straight lines appear to bow and the image expands at the edges. The appearance of a given image is also affected by the viewer’s distance from the work and angle of approach. The multiple variations in composition and effect that result are aligned with the geometric abstraction of Op art.

Image credit

Karl Gerstner (Swiss, 1930–2017), Linsenbild MAT (Lens image MAT), 1964. Laminated wood box, Plexiglas, 6 printed paper cards, and light bulb, 32/100, 15 11/16 x 15 11/16 x 6 5/16 in. (39.9 x 39.9 x 16 cm). Published by Edition MAT / Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, University purchase with funds from Aurelia Gerhard Schlapp, by exchange, 2013. © Karl Gerstner Estate, courtesy of Galerie Knoell, Basel.