First you study photography, then you practice photography, then you serve photography, and finally one becomes photography.
Interpretation
The quote outlines the progression of becoming a true artist through education, practice, service, and ultimately integration with one's art.
Ralph Gibson's quote reflects on the journey of mastering photography as an art form. It emphasizes that one must first learn the technical aspects of photography, then dedicate time to practice, followed by sharing their knowledge and skill with others, before finally reaching a level where photography becomes an intrinsic part of their identity. This illustrates a deep commitment to the art and shows how personal expression can evolve from discipline to embodiment.
In practice
A photographer might use this quote to inspire students at a workshop about the stages of becoming an artist.
Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode - from the snapshot to the decisive moment to multi-media montage - the intent and purpose of photography is to render in visual terms feelings and experiences that often elude the ability of words to describe. In any case, the eyes have it, and the imagination will always soar farther than was expected.
There's a kind of despair about whether art can really do anything, but you have to incorporate that despair into the way you work. I try to soak my work in my sense of futility and fury.
I try to write something that would interest anybody and keep them turning the page. You must have a plot and good storyline.
In the traditional Islamic world, the hierarchy of the arts was not based on whether they were "fine" or "industrial" or "minor". It was based upon the effect of art on the soul of the human being.
The blood of my motherland waters a magic plant that cures all ills. That plant is art, and sometimes art needs corruption as a kind of fertilizer
The thing I love about music is that you can take things that are painful, deep things that hurt you, and you can turn them into something beautiful.
The most important thing to realize is that everyone is capable of telling a story.
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