Diane Arbus Quotes

A collection of quotes by Diane Arbus.

Diane Arbus (1923-1971) was an American photographer known for her unique and haunting portraits that captured the unconventional and marginalized individuals in society. Born in New York City, Arbus started her photography career by assisting her husband in their fashion photography business. However, she soon began to focus on capturing the everyday lives of people on the fringes of society and became renowned for her ability to capture the essence of her subjects. Arbus pushed the boundaries of traditional portraiture, highlighting the beauty and complexity of those often overlooked by conventional norms. Her work continues to inspire and challenge viewers' perceptions to this day.

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.

Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumati

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.

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do --

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do -- that was one of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.

A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells y

A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.

Everybody has that thing where they need to look one way but

Everybody has that thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that's what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. It's just extraordinary that we should have been given these peculiarities. Something is ironic in the world and it has to do with the fact that what you intend never comes out like you intend it.

It gets to seem as if way back in the Garden of Eden after t

It gets to seem as if way back in the Garden of Eden after the Fall, Adam and Eve had begged the Lord to forgive them and He, in his boundless exasperation, had said, All right, then. Stay. Stay in the Garden. Get civilized. Procreate. Muck it up. And they did.

Paradise Utopia

If I were just curious, it would be very hard to say to some

If I were just curious, it would be very hard to say to someone, I want to come to your house and have you talk to me and tell me the story of your life. I mean people are going to say, You're crazy. Plus they're going to keep mighty guarded. But the camera is a kind of license. A lot of people, they want to be paid that much attention and that's a reasonable kind of attention to be paid.