FMP participant

Anne Geene and Arjan de Nooy

Project: 'The Universal Photographer' Photographers Anne Geene and Arjan de Nooy evoke a small universe, seen through the lens of the fictional photographer U.

The Universal Photographer is more or less based on Gustave Flaubert's unfinished satirical 1881 novel Bouvard et Pécuchet, in which he pokes fun at the encyclopedia. The novel tells the adventures of two rather naive 50-year-olds, copyists by trade, who move to the countryside after unexpectedly receiving an inheritance. They decide to delve into scientific topics. But they do that without a filter and become completely confused by all the contradictions they encounter. They end up as they started, as a copyist.

The two photographers have come up with a complete oeuvre for a nonexistent photographer. The book they release about him shows his early work and then moves on to themes such as wedding photography and the holidays in Italy. We see photo books in which the work is placed, but also complete collections of, for example, cloud images that are presented in notebooks in which the photographer has pasted his photos. In the first part of the book, the photographer is compared to important photographers such as Capa, Freelander and Djkstra and his work is related to movements such as modernism. In the back we video a collection of quotes.

PDF to the book: http://www.annegeene.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/UP-full-LR.pdf

Reading the part about the photographers and genres takes me back to the module "informing context". The parts of course that interests me the most are the clouds.

The introduction text on their site tells:

This monograph offers an introduction to the life, work and opinions of the universal photographer U. (1955 – 2016), a man who produced more pictures of more different subjects in more different styles than any other photographer to date. In U., numerous features of other photographers, philosophers, scientists and collectors can be recognized, but closest to his character may well be the protagonists of Flaubert’s novel Bouvard and Pécuchet. Like them, U. had a tendency to copy, collect, combine and study, and, like them, he lacked common sense. This resulted in remarkable methods, peculiar preferences and naïve solutions to self-made problems.

Besides being a monograph of U., The Universal Photographer reflects Geene & De Nooy’s view on the art of photography, characterised by relativism and even absurdism, but most of all it is a celebration of photography. Its primary quality – to copy – is taken to extremes through U.’s straightforward approach. Reading the history of photography as photos of photos of photos, U.’s work may well be an invitation for even more photos. In the words of Bouvard and  Pécuchet: “No reflexion! Let’s copy!”

Anne Geene and Arjan de Nooy- 2018- the universal photographer U

Anne Geene and Arjan de Nooy- 2018- the universal photographer - collage

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References

• GEENE, Anne. Website. Available at http://www.annegeene.nl/en/ [accessed on: 17 August 2020]

• LIGTENBERG, Corien. 2018. In de figuur ‘The Universal Photographer’ is de verbeelding aan de macht. Available at: https://www.brabantcultureel.nl/2018/12/16/in-de-figuur-the-universal-photographer-is-de-verbeelding-aan-de-macht%EF%BB%BF/ [accessed on: 17 August 2020]

• NOOY, Arjan, de. Website. Available at: https://www.arjandenooy.com [accessed on: 17 August 2020]

• GEENE, Anne and Arjan de NOOY. The universal photographer. Available at: http://www.annegeene.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/UP-full-LR.pdf [accessed on: 17 August 2020]