I want to photograph the considerable ceremonies of our present. I want to gather them, like somebody's grandmother putting up preserves, because they will have been so beautiful.
Diane ArbusRead
I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don't like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the idea of authenticity and self-acceptance in the creative process.
Diane Arbus emphasizes the importance of embracing one's own feelings of awkwardness rather than trying to impose order or arrangement on the external world. This suggests that true creativity comes from a place of self-awareness and the acceptance of our uncomfortable truths, allowing the artist to reflect their genuine perspective in their work.
Themes
AwkwardnessSelf-AcceptanceCreativityAuthenticityArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a public lecture on creative processes, one could quote this to illustrate the importance of authenticity in art.
More from Diane Arbus
All quotes βI tend to think of the act of photographing, generally speaking, as an adventure. My favorite thing is to go where Iβve never been.
Diane ArbusRead
... I must begin at whatever pace is possible, to work on the book of my own that i vaguely keep assuming lies at the end of the rainbow. It is after all my rainbow and if I don't do it no one else will...Survival is the secret so you really can't afford to doubt yourself for long because you are all you've got. The only thing to do is to go the limit with it. Exceed.
Diane ArbusRead
Freaks was a thing I photographed a lot. It was one of the first things I photographed, and it had a terrific kind of excitement for me. I just used to adore them. I still do adore some of them.
Diane ArbusRead
If I were just curious, it would be very hard to say to someone, I want to come to your house and have you talk to me and tell me the story of your life. I mean people are going to say, You're crazy. Plus they're going to keep mighty guarded. But the camera is a kind of license. A lot of people, they want to be paid that much attention and that's a reasonable kind of attention to be paid.
Diane ArbusRead
It's always seemed to me that photography tends to deal with facts whereas film tends to deal with fiction.
Diane ArbusRead
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