It's easy to photograph light reflecting from a surface, the truly hard part is capturing the light in the air.
Walker EvansRead
It is the way to educate your eye and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of keen observation and active engagement with the world around us as a means of learning.
Walker Evans highlights that true education involves much more than traditional learning; it requires an active participation in observing and understanding our surroundings. By advising us to 'stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop,' he encourages a curiosity and attentiveness that sharpens our perception and enriches our experiences, suggesting that the world is a valuable teacher if we are willing to pay attention.
In practice
In a lecture about photography, this quote can illustrate the importance of observation in art.
It's easy to photograph light reflecting from a surface, the truly hard part is capturing the light in the air.
Thatβs my idea of what a portrait ought to be, anonymous and documentary and a straightforward picture of mankind.
The meaning of quality in photography's best pictures lies written in the language of vision. That language is learned by chance, not system.
Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.
Whether he is an artist or not, the photographer is a joyous sensualist, for the simple reason that the eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts.
It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. We do it almost every moment. We do this as we dream, as we think, and as we cope with the world about us. But these worlds of fantasy that we form into the solid things around us are the source of our discontent. They inspire our search to find ourselves.
Our society accepts the book as a given, but the act of reading -- once considered useful and important, as well as potentially dangerous and subversive -- is now condescendingly accepted as a pastime, a slow pastime that lacks efficiency and does not contribute to the common good.
Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things that people do
I don't think I prefer writing for one age group above another. I am just as pleased with a story which I feel works well for very small children as I do with a story for young adults.
If you don't give your kid freedom to make choices with money, including stupid choices, he'll make plenty when he gets to college.
I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the ability to make utter strangers come alive.
Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
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