--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world now contains more photographs…" description: "\"The world now contains more photographs than bricks, and they are, astonishingly, all different.\" — John Szarkowski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/john-szarkowski-20414_bricks_the-world-now-contains-more-photographs_3037843.jpg" --- # The world now contains more photographs than bricks, and… ![“The world now contains more photographs than bricks, and they are, astonishingly, all different.” quote by John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/john-szarkowski-20414_bricks_the-world-now-contains-more-photographs_3037843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/john-szarkowski-20414_bricks_the-world-now-contains-more-photographs_3037843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/john-szarkowski-20414_bricks_the-world-now-contains-more-photographs_3037843.jpg) > “The world now contains more photographs than bricks, and they are, astonishingly, all different.” [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The abundance of unique images has surpassed traditional building materials, highlighting visual culture’s dominance. **In simple terms:** Images now outnumber bricks, showing visual overload. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of visual saturation. Themes photography culture technology Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - media analysis - education - design - marketing - archiving Key Concepts visual overload information abundance Questions to Reflect On - How does visual overload affect perception? - What strategies preserve image significance? A Different Perspective Too many images can dilute meaning and focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The basic material of photographs is not intrinsically beautiful. It's not like ivory or tapestry or bronze or oil on canvas. You're not supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/the-basic-material-of-photographs-is-not-intrinsically-beautiful-it-s/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [Even the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, with all due respect to him, are notoriously burned and dodged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/even-the-photographs-of-henri-cartier-bresson-with-all-due-respect-to/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [What sets 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' apart is Riggs's use of 'found' photographs as a spark of inspiration for the narrative. 'Found'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-cameron/what-sets-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children-apart-is-riggs/) [Claire Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-cameron/) > [“My studio team and I approached the creation of this series with enthusiasm, wit, sincerity and sometimes more than a dash of humour. Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waswo-x-waswo-2/my-studio-team-and-i-approached-the-creation-of-this-series-with/) Waswo X Waswo > [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/) > [Few Americans have ever met their Congresspeople. They don't see them at the grocery store; they don't meet them at the bowling alley. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/few-americans-have-ever-met-their-congresspeople-they-don-t-see-them/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [The beauty of photographs are that they never change…even if the people in them do...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-beauty-of-photographs-are-that-they-never-change-even-if-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Among the most compelling truths in some of the early photographs is their implication of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/among-the-most-compelling-truths-in-some-of-the-early-photographs-is/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I don't look at other photographs much at all. 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I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## More by John Szarkowski > [To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/to-quote-out-of-context-is-the-essence-of-the-photographer-s-craft/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [Because we see reality in different ways, we must understand that we are looking at different truths rather than the truth and that, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/because-we-see-reality-in-different-ways-we-must-understand-that-we/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [Whatever else a photograph may be about, it is inevitably about photography, the container and vehicle of all its meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/whatever-else-a-photograph-may-be-about-it-is-inevitably-about/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [Photography's central sense of purpose and aesthetic: the precise and lucid description of significant fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/photography-s-central-sense-of-purpose-and-aesthetic-the-precise-and/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [The central act of photography, the act of choosing and eliminating, forces a concentration on the picture edge - the line that separates in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/the-central-act-of-photography-the-act-of-choosing-and-eliminating/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [One of the leading uses of photography by the mass media came to be called photojournalism. 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The difference was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/the-invention-of-photography-provided-a-radically-new-picture-making/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [“There is a terrible truthfulness about photography. The ordinary academician gets hold of a pretty model, paints her as well as he can, calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/there-is-a-terrible-truthfulness-about-photography-the-ordinary/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) [Explore all 31 John Szarkowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) ## More Bricks quotes > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-city-is-well-fortified-which-has-a-wall-of-men-instead-of-brick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [LEGO is universal. 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Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [“Savannah gray bricks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-andrews/savannah-gray-bricks/) [Mary Kay Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-andrews/) > [I still have the desire to do the job of acting. 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