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.
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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.
Susan SontagRead
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