--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Usually when painters use photographs…" description: "\"Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and copy them and simply make a large, boring painting of a large, boring photograph.\" — Duane Michals" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png" --- # Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and… ![“Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and copy them and simply make a large, boring painting of a large, boring photograph.” quote by Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png) > “Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and copy them and simply make a large, boring painting of a large, boring photograph.” [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photographic references often become unoriginal when merely enlarged without reinterpretation. **In simple terms:** Copying photos directly makes boring art. Key Takeaway Transform source material creatively. Themes art originality creativity Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - digital art - design projects Key Concepts visual reinterpretation artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How can you add new meaning to existing images? - What makes a copy become a work of art? A Different Perspective Risk of losing authenticity in replication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Boring Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring-painting-1043640/) [Boring Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring-photograph-5714271/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Large](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-large-604108/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photographs Enlarge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-enlarge-5714272/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Usually Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usually-painters-5714273/) ## Related quotes > [I get so tired of painting. I've been trying to give it up all the time, if we could just make a living out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-get-so-tired-of-painting-i-ve-been-trying-to-give-it-up-all-the/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [The reason for my painting large canvases is that I want to be intimate and human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-reason-for-my-painting-large-canvases-is-that-i-want-to-be-2/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [The reason for my painting large canvases is that I want to be intimate and human. 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I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [There have to be at least two copies of a photograph, otherwise it’s not a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/there-have-to-be-at-least-two-copies-of-a-photograph-otherwise-it-s/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) [Piet Oudolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-oudolf/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [My songs are like cheap Neil Young copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/my-songs-are-like-cheap-neil-young-copies/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Duane Michals > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [All good children's books, I think, address metaphysical issues in some kind of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/all-good-children-s-books-i-think-address-metaphysical-issues-in-some/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [My work is about my life as an event, and I find myself to be very temporal, transient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/my-work-is-about-my-life-as-an-event-and-i-find-myself-to-be-very/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [And in not learning the rules, I was free. I always say, you're either defined by the medium or you redefine the medium in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/and-in-not-learning-the-rules-i-was-free-i-always-say-you-re-either/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photography does deal with 'truth' or a kind of superficial reality better than any of the other arts, but it never questions the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-does-deal-with-truth-or-a-kind-of-superficial-reality/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [People of my generation who became photographers in the late fifties, early sixties, there were no rewards in photography. There were no museum shows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/people-of-my-generation-who-became-photographers-in-the-late-fifties/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Taking photographs and writing is my way of saying I was here, I saw this, I felt this, I heard this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/taking-photographs-and-writing-is-my-way-of-saying-i-was-here-i-saw/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-write-in-order-to-express-what-the-photo-itself-cannot-say-a/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [If I indulge myself and surrender to memory, I can still feel the knot of excitement that gripped me as I turned the corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/if-i-indulge-myself-and-surrender-to-memory-i-can-still-feel-the-knot/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Art has to address eternal issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/art-has-to-address-eternal-issues/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [I believe in the invisible. I do not believe in the definitive reality of things around us. For me, reality is the intuition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-believe-in-the-invisible-i-do-not-believe-in-the-definitive-reality/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [All good work has magic in it, and addresses the mind in a subtle way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/all-good-work-has-magic-in-it-and-addresses-the-mind-in-a-subtle-way/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Art is not fashionable. That's why fashion and art are two different things. Fashion can never be art because fashion deals with whim, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/art-is-not-fashionable-that-s-why-fashion-and-art-are-two-different/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/there-are-those-photographers-who-have-made-a-whole-career-doing/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-deals-exquisitely-with-appearances-but-nothing-is-what-it/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Explore all 62 Duane Michals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## More Boring quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience's misconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/the-films-i-find-boring-are-the-ones-that-have-no-space-for-the/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-always-felt-that-dark-lyrics-with-dark-music-is-pretty-useless/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [Plumbing is usually boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/plumbing-is-usually-boring/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) [Browse all 3,123 Boring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and copy them and simply make a large, boring painting of a large, boring photograph.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Duane Michals" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/usually-when-painters-use-photographs-they-enlarge-and-copy-them-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/usually-when-painters-use-photographs-they-enlarge-and-copy-them-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/duane-michals-10800_boring_usually-when-painters-use-photographs-th_1536806.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Usually when painters use photographs, they enlarge and copy them and simply make a large, boring painting…” — Duane Michals", "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": "Duane Michals", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Usually when painters use photographs, they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/usually-when-painters-use-photographs-they-enlarge-and-copy-them-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/usually-when-painters-use-photographs-they-enlarge-and-copy-them-and/#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 } } ] } ```