Authors. Amateurs. It may be helpful to clarify what these two terms cover in the context of this exhibition arranged by Alain D’Hooghe, coming from the collection of his friend Thierry Struvay who searches, bargain-hunts, rummages, amasses, and collects photographs by anonymous amateurs. Tirelessly, from flea markets to second-hand stores, in Brussels or New York, he leafs through old family albums, opens tin cans, and dusty cardboard boxes in search of the rare pearl in which he is the first to take interest.
The authors here are the men and women who have chosen photography to express their relationship to the world, their concerns, their states of mind, and whatever paths they have taken. For these authors, whose writing takes us to terrains as varied as documentary or poetry– not to mention fiction or theatrics–, the essential involves developing a visual signature or, to put it another way, to build a piece of work. For them, it is a question of producing images that resemble themselves and that, moreover, bear similarities to each other. These photographers know what they are looking for and, after a while, have learned how to get it.
By “amateurs”, one must not– certainly not!– hear “amateur photographers”. These “hobbyists” who generally gather together in associations (international photo-clubs) where they compete in technical exploit and worship the most antiquated academicism. The amateurs here do not have the least bit of technical or artistic pretense. For them, photography consists of nothing other than a way– often satisfyingly effective– to keep a trace of a more or less happy moment in their existence. Here, we are dealing with domestic, familial, loving photography, an every-day photography, popular since the sociological and culturally revolutionary appearance of the Kodak box camera in 1888 (“You press the button, we do the rest”).
Authors/Amateurs. Two practices, two radically different approaches. But not necessarily irreconcilable. Sometimes they even complement each other. The intelligence, talent, finesse, and visual culture of some respond to the candor, innocence, and spontaneity of the others. Though the author, whose intentions are clear, do not need any external view for his or her works to make sense, the amateur’s images need a seasoned and benevolent eye to achieve different status.
Auteurs / Amateurs
From November 17 through December 30, 2017
Box Galerie
102 chaussée de Vleurgat
1050 Brussels
Belgium
