I can’t stand these damn shows on museum walls with neat little frames, where you look at the images as if they were pieces of art. I want them to be pieces of life!
W. Eugene SmithRead
I've never made any picture, good or bad, without paying for it in emotional turmoil.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creating art often comes at a personal cost, reflecting the emotional experiences of the artist.
W. Eugene Smith's quote emphasizes that the process of creating art is deeply intertwined with the artist's emotional journey. Whether the final product is deemed successful or not, the emotional struggles and turmoil faced during its creation are what ultimately shape the artwork and the artist's experience, highlighting the profound connection between personal experience and creative expression.
Themes
ArtEmotionTurmoilCreationExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of creativity at an art seminar.
More from W. Eugene Smith
All quotes →Most photographers seem to operate with a pane of glass between themselves and their subjects. They just can't get inside and know the subject.
W. Eugene SmithRead
Up to and including the moment of exposure, the photographer is working in an undeniably subjective way. By his choice of technical approach, by the selection of the subject matterand by his decision as to the exact cinematic instant of exposure, he is blending the variables of interpretation into an emotional whole.
W. Eugene SmithRead
I try to take what voice I have and I give it to those who don’t have one at all.
W. Eugene SmithRead
The photographer must bear the responsibility for his work and its effect …[for] photographic journalism, because of its tremendous audience reached by publications using it, has more influence on public thinking than any other branch of photography.
W. Eugene SmithRead
Many claim I am a photographer of tragedy. In the greater sense I am not, for though I often photograph where the tragic emotion is present, the result is almost invariably affirmative.
W. Eugene SmithRead
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