Inspiration: Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.”

Diane Arbus - A young man with curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966 © The Estate of Diane Arbus

“The more specific you are, the more general it’ll be.”

Diane Arbus - Identical twins, Roselle, N.J. 1967 © The Estate of Diane Arbus

“The thing that’s important to know is that you never know. You’re always sort of feeling your way.”

Diane Arbus - Puerto Rican woman with a beauty mark, N.Y.C. 1965 © The Estate of Diane Arbus

“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.”

Diane Arbus - Untitled (1) 1970-71 © The Estate of Diane Arbus

“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.”

Diane Arbus - Mexican dwarf in his hotel room in N.Y.C. 1970 © The Estate of Diane Arbus

“Freaks was a thing I photographed a lot. It was one of the first things I photographed and it had a terrific kind of excitement for me. I just used to adore them. I still do adore some of them. I don’t quite mean they’re my best friends but they made me feel a mixture of shame and awe. There’s a quality of legend about freaks. Like a person in a fairy tale who stops you and demands that you answer a riddle. 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 - Albino sword swallower at a carnival, Md. 1970 © The Estate of Diane Arbus