---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Photography, too, reduces the world to…"
description: "\"Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and rectangles; photographers scrutinize the surfaces of reality in hope of unlocking the potential for s..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg"
---

#  Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and…

![“Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and rectangles; photographers scrutinize the surfaces of reality in hope of unlocking the potential for significance that is latent within them.” quote by Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg)

> “Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and rectangles; photographers scrutinize the surfaces of reality in hope of unlocking the potential for significance that is latent within them.”

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Photographers dissect visual reality into basic forms, seeking hidden significance within ordinary scenes.

**In simple terms:** Seeing the world in basic shapes reveals deeper meaning.

Key Takeaway

Look beyond surface details.

Themes

art perception meaning

Mood

contemplative analytical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- photography
- design
- education

Key Concepts

visual analysis philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you find meaning in everyday scenes?
- What does “strips and rectangles” symbolize for you?

A Different Perspective

May overlook emotional context.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Latent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latent/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photographers Scrutinize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographers-scrutinize-1625832/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Reduces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-reduces-1625833/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Rectangles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rectangles/) [Rectangles Photographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rectangles-photographers-1625834/) [Reduces World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reduces-world-1625835/) [Scrutinize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutinize/) [Scrutinize Surfaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutinize-surfaces-1625836/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Unlocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlocking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [One night I had an idea while I was at the movies: to photograph the film itself. I tried to imagine photographing an entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/one-night-i-had-an-idea-while-i-was-at-the-movies-to-photograph-the/)

[Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/)

> [I loved to press the shutter, to freeze time, to turn little slices of life into rectangle rife with metaphor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-loved-to-press-the-shutter-to-freeze-time-to-turn-little-slices-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [To speak technically photography is the art of writing with light. But if I want to think about it more philosophically, I can say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerardo-suter/to-speak-technically-photography-is-the-art-of-writing-with-light-but/)

[Gerardo Suter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerardo-suter/)

> [The photograph gives constant reference to the rectangle. This forces any idea into the confines of pictorial illusionism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-oppenheim/the-photograph-gives-constant-reference-to-the-rectangle-this-forces/)

[Dennis Oppenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-oppenheim/)

> [A postcard. Neat handwriting fills the rectangle. Half my days I cannot bear to touch you. The rest of my time I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/a-postcard-neat-handwriting-fills-the-rectangle-half-my-days-i-cannot/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [In truth a clear-headed physicalist shouldn't be thinking any of these dualist thoughts. If pains are one and the same as C-fibres firing, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-papineau/in-truth-a-clear-headed-physicalist-shouldn-t-be-thinking-any-of/)

[David Papineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-papineau/)

> [I am afraid that there are more people than I can imagine who can go no further than appreciating a picture that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/i-am-afraid-that-there-are-more-people-than-i-can-imagine-who-can-go/)

[William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/)

> [In the Far East, we look at life in terms of circles. In the West, they look at life more in terms of squares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-far-east-we-look-at-life-in-terms-of-circles-in-the-west-they/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [In tennis the addict moves about a hard rectangle and seeks to ambush a fuzzy ball with a modified snow-shoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-chaze/in-tennis-the-addict-moves-about-a-hard-rectangle-and-seeks-to-ambush/)

[Elliott Chaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-chaze/)

> [The form of my painting is the content. My work is made of single or multiple panels: rectangle, curved, or square. I am less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-form-of-my-painting-is-the-content-my-work-is-made-of-single-or/)

[Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/)

> [Art is the space between the viewer and the rectangle that hangs on the wall. Unless something of the person that created the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/art-is-the-space-between-the-viewer-and-the-rectangle-that-hangs-on/)

[T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/)

> [Psychiatry is all biological and all social. There is no mental function without brain and social context. To ask how much of mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-eisenberg/psychiatry-is-all-biological-and-all-social-there-is-no-mental/)

[Leon Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-eisenberg/)

> [The sun appears in one of the upper corners of the rectangle, on the left of anyone looking at the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-sun-appears-in-one-of-the-upper-corners-of-the-rectangle-on-the/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [I don't understand why we have to experiment with film. I think everything should be done on paper. A musician has to do it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/i-don-t-understand-why-we-have-to-experiment-with-film-i-think/)

[Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/)

> [It's possible to think of photography as an act of editing, a matter of where you put your rectangle pull it out or take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/it-s-possible-to-think-of-photography-as-an-act-of-editing-a-matter/)

[Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/)

## More by Frank Gohlke

> [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

> [I see the experience of pictures as a kind of cycle, a kind of circular motion in which you're in the world, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/i-see-the-experience-of-pictures-as-a-kind-of-cycle-a-kind-of/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

> [“Perhaps if we were consciously able to use our bodies as fluently and expressively as we use language, we would find the physical reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/perhaps-if-we-were-consciously-able-to-use-our-bodies-as-fluently-and/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

> [When a photographer chooses a subject, he or she is making a claim on the interest and attention of future viewers, a prediction about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/when-a-photographer-chooses-a-subject-he-or-she-is-making-a-claim-on/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

> [Whatever the aspect, I've tried to provide clear witness to what I've found, to resonate well enough with the harmonics of the place that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/whatever-the-aspect-i-ve-tried-to-provide-clear-witness-to-what-i-ve/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

> [“I think that it is daily life which is the great event, the true “reality”.… My greatest ambition is to do something new and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/i-think-that-it-is-daily-life-which-is-the-great-event-the-true/)

[Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

[Explore all 7 Frank Gohlke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/)

## More Hope quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/)

[Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/)

> [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/)

[Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/)

> [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/)

[Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/)

> [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/)

[Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/)

[Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/)

[Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/)

> [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/)

[Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/)

> [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/)

[Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/)

> [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/)

[Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/)

> [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

[Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and rectangles; photographers scrutinize the surfaces of reality in hope of unlocking the potential for significance that is latent within them.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Frank Gohlke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-strips-and-rectangles/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hope"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-strips-and-rectangles/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/frank-gohlke-51192_hope_photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-str_1753396.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Photography, too, reduces the world to strips and rectangles; photographers scrutinize the surfaces of…” — Frank Gohlke",
                "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": "Frank Gohlke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Photography, too, reduces the world to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-strips-and-rectangles/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/photography-too-reduces-the-world-to-strips-and-rectangles/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
