Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan SontagRead
The aim of all commentary on art now should be to make works of art - and, by analogy, our own experience - more, rather than less, real to us. The function of criticism should be to show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The purpose of art commentary is to enhance our understanding and experience of art, not to interpret its meaning.
Susan Sontag emphasizes that the goal of art criticism should be to reveal the essence and reality of the artwork itself, rather than to delve into its deeper meanings or symbolic interpretations. This perspective encourages a more authentic engagement with art, allowing individuals to appreciate it for what it is, fostering a richer personal experience rather than complicating it with excessive analysis.
Themes
ArtCriticismExperienceCommentaryReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern art, one might say, 'As Susan Sontag pointed out, the aim of commentary should be to make the artwork more real to us.'
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes →Science fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
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Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
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Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
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In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
Susan SontagRead
It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
Susan SontagRead
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