Arjan de Nooy in Marres, House for Contemporary Culture

Solo exhibition Beyond The Amateur. A collector’s perspective on the history of photography

On view from 14 March until 30 May, 2010

Over the years, Arjan de Nooy amassed the work of dozens of Dutch photographers. His scientific background as a chemist led him to pursue a research-based method of collecting, focusing on the lives and oeuvres of largely unknown photographers. In the past years, Marres has organised a number of different projects addressing the role and significance of “the collector,” such as La Collection Imaginaire and After Cage. This time, Marres shows how the research-oriented approach of De Nooy not only has its impact on his method of collecting, but also leads to unknown facts and startling perspectives on the history of Dutch photography, with far reaching consequences for the current canon.

Beyond The Amateur – A collector’s perspective on the history of photography presents a selection of the historically most significant photographers in the collection of De Nooy, each exceeding the current discourse of photography with its emphasis on the role of the amateur.