I've tried a few times to depart from what I know I can do, and I've failed. I've tried to work outside the studio, but it introduces too many variables that I can't control. I'm really quite narrow, you know.
Interpretation
The quote reflects an artist's struggle with experimenting beyond their familiar boundaries and the challenges that come with it.
Irving Penn expresses the difficulty of stepping outside of one's expertise and comfort zone, acknowledging that while attempts to innovate may have been made, the unpredictable nature of new environments can lead to failure. This statement highlights the tension between creativity and the constraints of one's established skills, suggesting that true mastery may lie within a more focused and controlled artistic practice.
In practice
An artist might share this quote during a workshop to emphasize the importance of knowing one's artistic limits.
Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the world very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.
I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my wife and children.
I can get obsessed by anything if i look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer.
I'm not a really firm believer in theatre that is 'about anything.' I don't think theatre can be about anything other than the people who show up and the value that they hold.
There's no particular class of photograph that I think is any better than any other class. I'm always and forever looking for the image that has spirit! I don't give a damn how it got made.
In improvisation, there are no mistakes.
I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song.
With all art expression, when something is seen, it is a vivid experience, sudden, compelling, and inevitable.
The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough experience of eating to have anything worth setting down.
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