--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could find them (assemblages) in…" description: "\"If I could find them (assemblages) in nature I would photograph them. I make them because through photography I have a knowledge of things that can't b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/frederick-sommer-23789_assemblage_if-i-could-find-them-assemblages-in-natu_2987922.png" --- # If I could find them (assemblages) in nature I would… ![“If I could find them (assemblages) in nature I would photograph them. I make them because through photography I have a knowledge of things that can't be found.” quote by Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/frederick-sommer-23789_assemblage_if-i-could-find-them-assemblages-in-natu_2987922.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/frederick-sommer-23789_assemblage_if-i-could-find-them-assemblages-in-natu_2987922.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/frederick-sommer-23789_assemblage_if-i-could-find-them-assemblages-in-natu_2987922.png) > “If I could find them (assemblages) in nature I would photograph them. I make them because through photography I have a knowledge of things that can't be found.” [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. I photograph imagined assemblages to capture knowledge of things that cannot be directly observed in nature. **In simple terms:** I create images of imagined natural groups. Key Takeaway Use art to reveal unseen concepts. Themes creativity observation knowledge creation Mood inquisitive artistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - museum exhibits - educational materials - visual research Key Concepts photography conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - What unseen ideas could you visualize? - How does photography convey hidden knowledge? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be subjective and misunderstood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [The typical nature photograph shows a butterfly on a pretty flower. The conservation photograph shows the same thing, but with a bulldozer coming at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sartore/the-typical-nature-photograph-shows-a-butterfly-on-a-pretty-flower/) [Joel Sartore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sartore/) > [Perhaps the first photograph ever taken, Niépce's view of the rooftops over Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, was a truly pure photograph. The second one he took, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-muniz/perhaps-the-first-photograph-ever-taken-ni-pce-s-view-of-the-rooftops/) [Vik Muniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-muniz/) > [I do not photograph nature. I photograph my visions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-do-not-photograph-nature-i-photograph-my-visions/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [You see what you think, you see what you feel, you are what you see If with the camera you can make others see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/you-see-what-you-think-you-see-what-you-feel-you-are-what-you-see-if/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [I like there to be a joke in practically every photo I take. Nobody has the right to make photography boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-parkinson/i-like-there-to-be-a-joke-in-practically-every-photo-i-take-nobody/) [Norman Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-parkinson/) > [You know exactly what I think of photography. I would like to see it make people despise painting until something else will make photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/you-know-exactly-what-i-think-of-photography-i-would-like-to-see-it/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I was obsessed from the moment I took my first photograph. I wanted to make photography my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-duley/i-was-obsessed-from-the-moment-i-took-my-first-photograph-i-wanted-to/) [Giles Duley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-duley/) > [What is important is that our optical awareness rids itself of classical notions of beauty and opens itself more and more to the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-hausmann/what-is-important-is-that-our-optical-awareness-rids-itself-of/) Raoul Hausmann > [The idea that a fashion photograph could make you cry doesn't happen. And I'm proud to say that my slideshows can make people cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/the-idea-that-a-fashion-photograph-could-make-you-cry-doesn-t-happen/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Photography teaches us to see, and we can see whatever we wish. When I take a photograph, I make a wish. I was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-tice/photography-teaches-us-to-see-and-we-can-see-whatever-we-wish-when-i/) [George A Tice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-tice/) > [It seemed clear to me early on that one of the things a photograph could do was make a reality, and I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-kurland/it-seemed-clear-to-me-early-on-that-one-of-the-things-a-photograph/) [Justine Kurland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-kurland/) > [You don't take a photograph, you make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/you-don-t-take-a-photograph-you-make-it/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-have-always-done-the-opposite-of-what-i-was-trained-to-do-having/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Why do photographers photograph? To make unreality visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/why-do-photographers-photograph-to-make-unreality-visible/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [The paleontological evidence before us today clearly demonstrates ordered progressive change with the successive development of new faunal and floral assemblages through the changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-paleontological-evidence-before-us-today-clearly-demonstrates/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) ## More by Frederick Sommer > [The coherent way of investigating any field is to examine its possible relatedness to other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/the-coherent-way-of-investigating-any-field-is-to-examine-its/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [My photographs are not pure: they are a seething wealth of imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/my-photographs-are-not-pure-they-are-a-seething-wealth-of-imperfection/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [... art is images you carry. You cannot carry nature with you, but you carry images of nature. When you go out to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/art-is-images-you-carry-you-cannot-carry-nature-with-you-but-you/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [We work for that part of our vision which is uncompleted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/we-work-for-that-part-of-our-vision-which-is-uncompleted/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Everything is shared by everything else; there are no discontinuities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/everything-is-shared-by-everything-else-there-are-no-discontinuities/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Art is the splendor of reality before everything has become meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/art-is-the-splendor-of-reality-before-everything-has-become-meaning/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Ideas and art are the possibility of an answer tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/ideas-and-art-are-the-possibility-of-an-answer-tomorrow/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Art and accident are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/art-and-accident-are-one/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [In total acceptance, almost everything becomes a revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/in-total-acceptance-almost-everything-becomes-a-revelation/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Reality is greater than our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/reality-is-greater-than-our-dreams/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [The field of action of a photograph should be that chessboard of the heart and mind upon which poetry and art have always operated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/the-field-of-action-of-a-photograph-should-be-that-chessboard-of-the/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Art accepts what it finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/art-accepts-what-it-finds/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Photography is a distributive act leading to a privileged condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/photography-is-a-distributive-act-leading-to-a-privileged-condition/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Ideas and thoughts collide and sort themselves out in these fruitful collisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/ideas-and-thoughts-collide-and-sort-themselves-out-in-these-fruitful/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Some speak of a return to nature, I wonder where they could have been?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/some-speak-of-a-return-to-nature-i-wonder-where-they-could-have-been/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) [Explore all 25 Frederick Sommer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) ## More Assemblage quotes > [The paleontological evidence before us today clearly demonstrates ordered progressive change with the successive development of new faunal and floral assemblages through the changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-paleontological-evidence-before-us-today-clearly-demonstrates/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Identity is an assemblage of constellations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/identity-is-an-assemblage-of-constellations/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Whether it is photography, assemblage art or filmmaking, my work is to see beneath the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-agou/whether-it-is-photography-assemblage-art-or-filmmaking-my-work-is-to/) [Christophe Agou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-agou/) > [I am intrigued with combining the remnant of memories, fragments of relics and ordinary objects, with the components of technology. It's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betye-saar/i-am-intrigued-with-combining-the-remnant-of-memories-fragments-of/) Betye Saar > [There were a lot of apocalypses that didn't make it into this assemblage because they didn't suit the world. And defining that world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-corin/there-were-a-lot-of-apocalypses-that-didn-t-make-it-into-this/) [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) > [We are all incarnate Buddhas. We just have not realized it deeply. We have not moved the mind - what our friend Don Juan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-are-all-incarnate-buddhas-we-just-have-not-realized-it-deeply-we/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A tribute . . . is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism, which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-tribute-is-due-to-the-talents-the-rectitude-and-the-patriotism/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [In the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/in-the-great-battle-of-life-no-brilliancy-of-intellect-no-perfection/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Since the tubes of paint used by the artist are manufactured and ready-made products, we must conclude that all the paintings in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/since-the-tubes-of-paint-used-by-the-artist-are-manufactured-and/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [All systems of morality are fine. The gospel alone has exhibited a complete assemblage of the principles of morality, divested of all absurdity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/all-systems-of-morality-are-fine-the-gospel-alone-has-exhibited-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The universe, that vast assemblage of every thing that exists, presents only matter and motion: the whole offers to our contemplation, nothing but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/the-universe-that-vast-assemblage-of-every-thing-that-exists-presents/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [See what an atmosphere of holiness is here the pure air of the Ganga what an assemblage of Sadhus will you find anywhere a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/see-what-an-atmosphere-of-holiness-is-here-the-pure-air-of-the-ganga/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The mere assemblage of peace loving people to interchange convincing reasons for their common faith, mere exhortation and argument to the public in favor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/the-mere-assemblage-of-peace-loving-people-to-interchange-convincing/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [I have this assemblage of small facts, which looks like intelligence but no real depth of knowledge about anything. That's why I'm an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-knight/i-have-this-assemblage-of-small-facts-which-looks-like-intelligence/) [Wayne Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-knight/) > [The brain is more than an assemblage of autonomous modules, each crucial for a specific mental function. Every one of these functionally specialized areas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-brain-is-more-than-an-assemblage-of-autonomous-modules-each/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) Browse all 50 Assemblage quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I could find them (assemblages) in nature I would photograph them. 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