I write in order to express what the photo itself cannot say. A photograph of my father doesn't tell me what I thought of him, which for me is much more important than what the man looked like.
Duane MichalsThe question of truth is forever in the air, and people look for it with particular fervor in art.
Duane MichalsPhotography does deal with 'truth' or a kind of superficial reality better than any of the other arts, but it never questions the nature of reality - it simply reproduces reality. And what good is that when the things of real value in life are invisible?
Duane MichalsPhotography is essentially an act of recognition by street photographers, not an act of invention. Photographers might respond to an old manโs face, or an Arbus freak, or the way light hits a buildingโand then they move on. Whereas in all the other art forms, take William Blake, everything that came to that paper never existed before. Itโs the idea of alchemy, of making something from nothing.
Duane MichalsPhotographers tend not to photograph what they canโt see, which is the very reason one should try to attempt it. Otherwise weโre going to go on forever just photographing more faces and more rooms and more places. Photography has to transcend description. It has to go beyond description to bring insight into the subject, or reveal the subject, not as it looks, but how does it feel?
Duane Michals