Documentary film by Simone de Vries: TED NOTEN: gold, sweat & pearls
This documentary is an intimate portrait of artist Ted Noten (1956), who is well-known for his cheeky pieces of jewellery. He throws his golden formula overboard abruptly and faces the future fearlessly and with an open mind. But first he goes to Chicago for a reunion with his muse, a piece of jewellery that caused his international break-through: a mouse with a pearl necklace, The Princess. Will she give him the inspiration that he's looking for so passionately?
Jewellery designer Ted Noten (1956) is well-known for his cheeky pieces of jewelry. Are they wearable? Not necessarily. Are they provocative? Absolutely.
A series of see-through purses containing a gun, a chameleon or a line of coke with a pearl necklace... At first glance, Noten seems to be a man of the brutal gesture. But does he merely want to provoke, or is there more to it?

It's hard to put a label on Ted Noten's work: how should it be categorized, what is the definition of a piece of jewellery, when is it useful? It is about emotion, the meaning of an ornament and the underlying thought. Noten's jewellery is not about beauty, it's about a message and the connection between the wearer and the ornament.

Noten: "I make jewellery that takes some time getting used to. When you wear it, you make yourself vulnerable as it makes such a striking statement. I speak out through my jewellery and objects. I comment upon jewellery as a phenomenon, upon the industry or - like any artist - upon humanity."

This documentary is an intimate portrait of an artist who throws his golden formula overboard abruptly and faces the future fearlessly and with an open mind. But first he goes to Chicago for a reunion with a piece that caused his international break-through: a mouse with a pearl necklace, The Princess. Will she give him the inspiration that he's looking for so passionately?