19 Quotes & Sayings By Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 26, 1923. She took her first photograph at age eleven and by the age of fourteen, she had already taken more than 1,000 photographs. Her early work was exhibited in New York at a gallery owned by Andy Warhol and was later shown in a one-person show in Paris at the age of twenty-three. In the mid-1960s she began to work with Robert Frank, who would become one of her closest friends and photographic collaborators Read more

At the time of her death in 1971, she had photographed more than 800 men and women in all social classes and conditions. She is best known for the series Men In Their Beds (1961).

The thing that's important to know is that you never...
1
The thing that's important to know is that you never know. You're always sort of feeling your way. Diane Arbus
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic...
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. Diane Arbus
Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants...
3
Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice. Diane Arbus
4
A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know. Diane Arbus
5
One thing that struck me early is that you don’t put into a photograph what’s going to come out. Or, vice versa, what comes out is not what you put in. Diane Arbus
6
For me, the subject of the picture is always more important than the picture. Diane Arbus
7
What I'm trying to describe is that it's impossible to get out of your skin into somebody else's.... That somebody else's tragedy is not the same as your own. Diane Arbus
8
Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory. Diane Arbus
9
I tend to think of the act of photographing, generally speaking, as an adventure. My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been. Diane Arbus
10
One of the risks of appearing in public is the likelihood of being photographed. Diane Arbus
11
I used to have a theory about photographing. It was a sense of getting in between two actions, or in between acton and repose. Diane Arbus
12
What is ceremonious and curious and commonplace will be legendary. Diane Arbus
13
You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. Diane Arbus
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I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them. Diane Arbus
15
My favorite thing is to go where I have never gone. Diane Arbus
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My favourite thing is to go where I've never been. Diane Arbus
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The more specific you are the more general it'll be. Diane Arbus
18
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Diane Arbus