Aaron Siskind
[Photographer, b. 1903, New York, d. 1991, Providence, Rhode Island.]
It makes no difference what the subject matter is. The idea, the statement, is the only thing that counts.
Paul Strand
[Photographer, b. 1890, New York, d. 1976, Oregeval, France.]
Subject matter is extremely important to the artist, because until he talks about something that really means something to him, the audience cannot see anything important or interesting.
Andreas Feininger
[Photographer, b. 1906, Paris, France, d. 1999, New York.]
Experience has shown that the more fascinating the subject, the less observant the photographer.
Susan Sontag
[Writer, theorist, and critic, b. 1933, New York, d. 2004, New York.]
In photographing dwarfs, you don’t get majesty and beauty. You get dwarfs.
(On photographs by Diane Arbus)
Robert Frank
[Photographer and filmmaker, b. 1924, Zürich, Switzerland, lives in Mabou, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, and New York.]
You can photograph anything now.
William Klein
[Photographer, b. 1928, New York, lives in Paris.]
I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography.
Lewis Baltz
[Photographer, b. 1945, Newport Beach, California, d. 2014, Paris.]
I use a high-art photographic technique to present views of nothing, that is, of no special interest per se.
Eliot Porter
[Photographer, b. 1901, Winnetka, Illinois, d. 1990, Santa Fe, New Mexico.]
Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject.
