Photography is a major force in explaining man to man.
Edward SteichenRead
The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth.
Interpretation
Photography serves as a medium for self-exploration and understanding among people.
Edward Steichen's quote highlights the profound role of photography in fostering communication and introspection. By capturing moments and emotions, photography allows individuals to connect with others and themselves, revealing the complexities of human experience and the intricacies of existence.
In practice
During a photography exhibit, I quoted Steichen to emphasize the importance of images in understanding human emotions.
Photography is a major force in explaining man to man.
You know... that a blank wall is an apalling thing to look at... _x000D_ The wall of a museum - a canvas - a piece of film - or a guy sitting in front of a typewriter. Then, you start out to do something - that vague thing called creation. The beginning strikes awe within you.
The use of the term art medium is, to say the least, misleading, for it is the artist that creates a work of art not the medium. It is the artist in photography that gives form to content by a distillation of ideas, thought, experience, insight and understanding.
I'm absolutely removed from the world at such times...The hours go by without my knowing it. Sitting there I'm wandering in countries I can see every detail of - I'm playing a role in the story I'm reading. I actually feel I'm the characters - I live and breath with them.
Writing, for me, was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my life.
Thatβs my idea of what a portrait ought to be, anonymous and documentary and a straightforward picture of mankind.
Gardening is how I relax. It's another form of creating and playing with colors.
Creativity helps us realize that we don't have to understand everything. We can enjoy something -feel it and use it- without ever fully comprehending it.
There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts.
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