--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...all along I've had an ambivalent…" description: "\"...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art form, or a craft, or a technique, well, I've al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png" --- # ...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to… ![“...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art form, or a craft, or a technique, well, I've always been taken with Henry Geldzahler's answer to that question when he said, I thought it was a hobby.” quote by David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png) > “...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art form, or a craft, or a technique, well, I've always been taken with Henry Geldzahler's answer to that question when he said, I thought it was a hobby.” [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hockney sees photography as a hobby rather than high art, emphasizing personal enjoyment over classification. **In simple terms:** He treats photography as a hobby. Key Takeaway Enjoy the process, not the label. Themes art craft photography identity Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal projects - social media sharing - gallery exhibitions - art education Key Concepts aesthetic self‑definition creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect your creative freedom? - Do you value the activity more than its status? A Different Perspective Some may argue that dismissing photography as a hobby undermines its cultural impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Hobbies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbies/) [Hobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobby/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) ## Related quotes > [While I was doing these plays in the beginning, I wasn't getting paid. I thought of it more as a hobby. Then I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-berenger/while-i-was-doing-these-plays-in-the-beginning-i-wasn-t-getting-paid/) [Tom Berenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-berenger/) > [I got a camera at a very young age, but I always kind of thought of it as a hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramy-youssef/i-got-a-camera-at-a-very-young-age-but-i-always-kind-of-thought-of-it/) [Ramy Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramy-youssef/) > [I turned to photography because I thought it was the dominant language of our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-charlesworth/i-turned-to-photography-because-i-thought-it-was-the-dominant/) [Sarah Charlesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-charlesworth/) > [When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-i-first-became-interested-in-photography-i-thought-it-was-the/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [I was born in Seoul, South Korea; then I moved to New York City at the age of seventeen. In New York, I studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sung-jin-park/i-was-born-in-seoul-south-korea-then-i-moved-to-new-york-city-at-the/) [Sung Jin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sung-jin-park/) > [I've always thought that each album would be my last one, and then I would be out of ideas and I would move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-ve-always-thought-that-each-album-would-be-my-last-one-and-then-i/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [The invention of photography has dealt a mortal blow to the old modes of expression, in painting as well as in poetry, where automatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-invention-of-photography-has-dealt-a-mortal-blow-to-the-old-modes/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I have said this many times in the past and will say it many times in the future I am sure: some people need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-wales/i-have-said-this-many-times-in-the-past-and-will-say-it-many-times-in/) [Jimmy Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-wales/) > [No man is really happy or safe without a hobby ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/no-man-is-really-happy-or-safe-without-a-hobby/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [A lot of my time is spent watching films and reading scripts. And it can be all-consuming. And it's obviously something I'm fortunate that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/a-lot-of-my-time-is-spent-watching-films-and-reading-scripts-and-it/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Watching movies, making quotes, cooking,and singing is my hobbies.how about yours? enjoy life and make your life style very enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-alapan/watching-movies-making-quotes-cooking-and-singing-is-my-hobbies-how/) [Mitch Alapan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-alapan/) > [I am essentially a hack, a commercial person. If I had a hobby, I would immediately make money on it or abandon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/i-am-essentially-a-hack-a-commercial-person-if-i-had-a-hobby-i-would/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [“You know, people start things for different reasons. But ultimately it turns into pure passion and one becomes insatiate. There is no end once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhaidev/you-know-people-start-things-for-different-reasons-but-ultimately-it/) [Abhaidev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhaidev/) > [I wouldn't call girls a hobby. It's a pastime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/i-wouldn-t-call-girls-a-hobby-it-s-a-pastime/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Without a customer, you don't have a business - all you have is a hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-peppers/without-a-customer-you-don-t-have-a-business-all-you-have-is-a-hobby/) [Don Peppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-peppers/) ## More by David Hockney > [ You can't believe any picture nowadays, if it's digital. You can't really believe. If you see me shaking hands with Mr. \[Barack\] Obama, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-can-t-believe-any-picture-nowadays-if-it-s-digital-you-can-t/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-had-always-planned-to-make-a-large-painting-of-the-early-spring/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I've always said that the only thing a photograph is good at capturing faithfully is another flat surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-ve-always-said-that-the-only-thing-a-photograph-is-good-at/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm rather shocked by what I thought was simple mindedness actually. I thought they're not looking, they're not actually looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-m-rather-shocked-by-what-i-thought-was-simple-mindedness-actually-i/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You would think death was an optional extra nowadays. Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I live wherever I happen to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-live-wherever-i-happen-to-be/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Until I saw my drawings replayed on the iPad, I'd never seen myself draw. Someone watching me would be concentrating on the exact moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/until-i-saw-my-drawings-replayed-on-the-ipad-i-d-never-seen-myself/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You always need a bit of low-tech.You always need a pair of scissors, it seems to me. You can do better things… The high-tech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-always-need-a-bit-of-low-tech-you-always-need-a-pair-of-scissors/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/when-you-are-older-you-realise-that-everything-else-is-just-nothing/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The photograph isn't good enough. It's not real enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/the-photograph-isn-t-good-enough-it-s-not-real-enough/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [In fact, I'm a bit of a slob, but I've always said my excuse, I have a higher sense of order, I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/in-fact-i-m-a-bit-of-a-slob-but-i-ve-always-said-my-excuse-i-have-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Spring is very energising to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/spring-is-very-energising-to-me/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [No theoretician, no writer on art, however interesting he or she might be, could be as interesting as Picasso. A good writer on art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/no-theoretician-no-writer-on-art-however-interesting-he-or-she-might/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [How difficult it is to learn not to see like cameras, which has had such an effect on us. The camera sees everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-difficult-it-is-to-learn-not-to-see-like-cameras-which-has-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [With chemical film, it was possible to alter photographs, but you had to be an expert. That's not true any more. The LA Times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/with-chemical-film-it-was-possible-to-alter-photographs-but-you-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) [Explore all 247 David Hockney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## More Ambivalent quotes > [“I find it ironic that someone so ambivalent about living fights so hard to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-grover-swank/i-find-it-ironic-that-someone-so-ambivalent-about-living-fights-so/) [Denise Grover Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-grover-swank/) > [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [When you 'make good,' you find out who your real friends are. You find out pretty quick. And it's a very ambivalent feeling, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-camp/when-you-make-good-you-find-out-who-your-real-friends-are-you-find/) [Greg Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-camp/) > [There is scarcely room for doubt that something in the psychological relation of a mother-in-law to a son-in-law breeds hostility between them and makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-scarcely-room-for-doubt-that-something-in-the-psychological/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The attitude of the American public toward the external projection of American power has been much more ambivalent. The public supported America's engagement in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-attitude-of-the-american-public-toward-the-external-projection-of/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Gollum was so interesting to me because he's morally ambivalent, and I love the notion of a quest that is to lose something. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/gollum-was-so-interesting-to-me-because-he-s-morally-ambivalent-and-i/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [The American public is somewhat ambivalent about what they expect out of thenational forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-regula/the-american-public-is-somewhat-ambivalent-about-what-they-expect-out/) [Ralph Regula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-regula/) > [What does it mean then to live with one another? It can be unhappy, it can be wretched, it can be ambivalent, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/what-does-it-mean-then-to-live-with-one-another-it-can-be-unhappy-it/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“The unconscious operation of the attachment system via internal working models probably plays an important part in the choice of marital partner and relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-unconscious-operation-of-the-attachment-system-via-internal/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [I'd like to see a much more open Monarchy, myself. I used to think they were completely useless and we should get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-d-like-to-see-a-much-more-open-monarchy-myself-i-used-to-think-they/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [The more ambivalent you are and the more uncertain you are, then you can get something that you cannot anticipate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-more-ambivalent-you-are-and-the-more-uncertain-you-are-then-you/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [We all parent the best we can. Being human, we're ambivalent. We want perfection for our babies, but we also need sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/we-all-parent-the-best-we-can-being-human-we-re-ambivalent-we-want/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [It's time to "stop being ambivalent." ... They (groups like the Islamic State) have no ideology beyond violence and chaos and the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-time-to-stop-being-ambivalent-they-groups-like-the-islamic-state/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We all have ambivalent feelings toward work ... We try to avoid it, and yet we seem to require it for our emotional well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/we-all-have-ambivalent-feelings-toward-work-we-try-to-avoid-it-and/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [I worked with fantastic actors, fantastic directors. People I would never otherwise have met. Was I limited? Yes. Did I use it as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-golino/i-worked-with-fantastic-actors-fantastic-directors-people-i-would/) [Valeria Golino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-golino/) Browse all 89 Ambivalent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art form, or a craft, or a technique, well, I've always been taken with Henry Geldzahler's answer to that question when he said, I thought it was a hobby.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hockney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relationship-to-photography-but-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambivalent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relationship-to-photography-but-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/david-hockney-1395_ambivalent_all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relatio_1803721.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art…” — David Hockney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Hockney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...all along I've had an ambivalent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relationship-to-photography-but-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relationship-to-photography-but-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```