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
A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Photography reveals hidden truths while simultaneously obscuring them.
Diane Arbus's quote suggests that a photograph can convey deep, intimate secrets about the subject it captures, yet paradoxically, the more information it presents, the less one truly understands. It highlights the complexity and ambiguity of visual representation, where images can evoke strong emotions and thoughts but may also mislead or simplify the reality behind them.
Themes
PhotographyTruthSecretsArtRepresentation
In practice
Example use cases
During a photography exhibition opening, the quote can be used to discuss the depth of the photographs on display.
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
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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