I think all art is about control, the encounter between control and uncontrollable.
Interpretation
Art reflects the tension between what we can control and the chaos we cannot.
This quote by Richard Avedon suggests that the essence of art lies in the dynamic interplay between the artist's intention and the unpredictable nature of creativity. It emphasizes that while an artist strives for control over their medium and message, there are always elements that are beyond their control, and this struggle defines the creation and experience of art.
In practice
In a speech about the value of creativity in education, this quote could underscore the importance of embracing chaos in the creative process.
There's always been a separation between fashion and what I call my 'deeper' work. Fashion is where I make my living. I'm not knocking it. It's a pleasure to make a living that way. It's pleasure and then there's the deeper pleasure of doing my portraits. It's not important what I consider myself to be, but I consider myself to be a portrait photographer.
I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there. I can only record. I cannot interpret her. There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait.
I never wanted to be called an artist. I wanted to be called a photographer.
Photography has always reminded me of the second child.. trying to prove itself. The fact that it wasn't really considered an art.. that it was considered a craft.. has trapped almost every serious photographer.
My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.
When you pose for a photograph, it's behind a smile that isn't yours. You are angry and hungry and alive. What I value in you is that intensity. I want to make portraits as intense as people.
Botox should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen. Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?
You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.
I never plot out my novels in terms of the tone of the book. Hopefully, once a story is begun it reveals itself
Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.
But maybe music was not intended to satisfy the curious definiteness of man. Maybe it is better to hope that music may always be transcendental language in the most extravagant sense.
There's so little representation of people who look like me behind the camera that it makes you want to say yes to any opportunity out of desperation. It puts you in a situation where you can't make your best work. Diversity for cheap.
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