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
Lately I've been struck with how I really love what you can't see in a photograph. An actual physical darkness. And it's very thrilling for me to see darkness again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the beauty and thrill found in unseen aspects of life, particularly in darkness.
Diane Arbus expresses her fascination with the elements of life that are not visible in photographs. She suggests that there is something profound and thrilling about experiencing 'actual physical darkness'—a metaphor for the hidden, complex aspects of human existence that raw imagery cannot capture. This idea also speaks to the emotional and psychological depths that remain unseen, which can evoke strong feelings and inspire deeper understanding.
Themes
DarknessPhotographyBeautyEmotionInvisibility
In practice
Example use cases
During an art exhibit discussion, one could use this quote to highlight the power of unseen emotions in art.
More from Diane Arbus
All quotes →I tend to think of the act of photographing, generally speaking, as an adventure. My favorite thing is to go where I’ve 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
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.
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
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