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
Using a camera appeases the anxiety which the work-driven feel about not working when they are on vacation and supposed to be having fun. They have something to do that is like a friendly imitation of work: they can take pictures.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that photography allows work-oriented people to find solace during vacation by providing them with a purposeful activity.
Susan Sontag's quote reflects on how taking photographs while on vacation serves as a way for individuals with work-centric mindsets to mitigate feelings of guilt or anxiety from not being productive. Photography becomes a substitute for work, allowing people to engage in a creative endeavor that mimics the structure and purpose they find in their everyday jobs, providing a sense of satisfaction even in leisure.
Themes
PhotographyVacationAnxietyWorkCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about balancing work and leisure, one might quote Susan Sontag to illustrate how creative activities can relieve anxiety.
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.
Susan SontagRead
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.
Susan SontagRead
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