I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive.
Man RayRead
I like contradictions. We have never attained the infinite variety and contradictions that exist in nature. Tomorrow I shall contradict myself. That is the one way I have of asserting my liberty, the real liberty one does not find as a member of society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embracing contradictions is a way to assert one's freedom from societal norms.
This quote by Man Ray emphasizes the beauty of contradictions and the complexity of nature, suggesting that true liberty involves the acceptance of conflicting ideas. By acknowledging that one may contradict themselves, it reflects a deep understanding of personal freedom, separate from societal expectations and limitations.
Themes
ContradictionFreedomLibertyNatureSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical discussion on freedom, I might say, 'As Man Ray put it, I like contradictions.'
More from Man Ray
All quotes →I do not photograph nature. I photograph my visions.
Man RayRead
l photograph what l do not wish to paint and l paint that which l cannot photograph.
Man RayRead
Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.
Man RayRead
Dada cannot live in New York. All New York is dada, and will not tolerate a rival.
Man RayRead
Nature does not create works of art. It is we, and the faculty of interpretation peculiar to the human mind, that see art.
Man RayRead
Similar quotes
This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is. We are searching for an ideal image of our own world: we go in quest of a planet, a civilization superior to our own but developed on the basis of a prototype of our primeval past.
Stanislaw LemRead
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.
Fulton J. SheenRead
I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – too? Then there's a pair of us? Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know! How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – To tell one's name – the livelong June – To an admiring Bog!
Emily DickinsonRead
Estrangement shows itself precisely in the elimination of distance between people.
Theodor AdornoRead
Imagine me; I shall not exist if you do not imagine me; try to discern the doe in me, trembling in the forest of my own iniquity; let's even smile a little. After all, there is no harm in smiling.
Vladimir NabokovRead