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As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of space in which they are insecure.
Susan Sontag
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Photographs create an illusion of owning a moment from the past while also providing comfort in uncertain spaces.

In this quote, Susan Sontag reflects on the duality of photographs as both a means of capturing memories and as tools that allow individuals to feel more secure in their surroundings. Photographs serve as nostalgic reminders of times gone by, often idealizing the past, while simultaneously offering a sense of belonging or comfort in the present by anchoring people to specific places or experiences.

Themes

PhotographyMemoryNostalgiaSecurityArt

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote in a speech about the impact of photography on personal memories.

More from Susan Sontag

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.
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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.
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