The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness.
I wanted to be a scientist. I did a thesis on lions. But I realised photography can show things writing can't. Lions were my professor of photography.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the idea that creative mediums like photography can convey experiences and truths that words alone cannot.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand reflects on his journey from aspiring scientist to photographer, highlighting the unique ways photography can capture and communicate the essence of subjects, particularly in nature. He emphasizes that his experiences studying lions were not only educational in a scientific sense but also profoundly impactful for his artistic vision, suggesting that the visual representation of life can transcend traditional academic learning.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a photography class to inspire students about the power of visual storytelling.
More from Yann Arthus-Bertrand
All quotes βNo one is an environmentalist by birth. It is only your path, your life, your travels that awaken you.
Similar quotes
The fundamental aspect of video is not the image, even though you can stand in amazement at what can be done electronically, how images can be manipulated and the really extraordinary creative possibilities. For me the essential basis of video is the movement - something that exists at the moment and changes in the next moment.
Literature has become my life.
Recently I danced in a video spoof of the song 'Gangnam Style,' and it was quickly banned across multiple Chinese online video platforms. But the story still traveled all over the world, carried in hundreds of international media reports.
[Photography] puts a human face on issues which, from afar, can appear abstract or ideological or monumental in their global impact.
I wanted to translate from one flat surface to another. In fact, my learning disabilities controlled a lot of things. I don't recognize faces, so I'm sure it's what drove me to portraits in the first place.
If your educe sculpture to the flat plane of the temporal experience of the work. (...) the experience of the work is inseparable from the place in which the work resides. Apart from that condition, any experience of the work is a deception.