Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan SontagRead
[T]he visibility of styles is itself a product of historical consciousness. ... The very notion of "style" needs to be approached historically. Awareness of style as a problematic and isolable element in a work of art has emerged in the audience for art only at certain historical moments - as a front behind which other issues, ultimately ethical and political, are being debated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Style in art is influenced by historical context and reflects deeper ethical and political debates.
Susan Sontag suggests that our perception of 'style' in art is not a stagnant concept but rather shaped by the historical consciousness of different eras. The way we understand and critique artistic styles has evolved, often serving as a backdrop for broader discussions on ethical and political themes relevant to the time.
Themes
StyleArtHistorical ConsciousnessEthicsPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on art history, this quote can be used to illustrate how societal values influence artistic movements.
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes →Science fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
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Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
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Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
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In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
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It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
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