--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any familiarity with photographic history…" description: "\"Any familiarity with photographic history shows that manipulation is integral to photography.\" — Martha Rosler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png" --- # Any familiarity with photographic history shows that… ![“Any familiarity with photographic history shows that manipulation is integral to photography.” quote by Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png) > “Any familiarity with photographic history shows that manipulation is integral to photography.” [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography inherently involves editing, shaping reality. **In simple terms:** Photos are altered. Key Takeaway Recognize media manipulation. Themes art media truth Mood critical educational Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - advertising - news media - social media Key Concepts visual rhetoric construction of reality photographic ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does editing affect authenticity? - Can we trust any image? A Different Perspective Manipulation can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Familiarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiarity/) [Familiarity Photographic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiarity-photographic-3690564/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Photographic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographic/) [Photographic History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographic-history-3226355/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Shows Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows-manipulation-3690565/) ## Related quotes > [When you start out, you're not really aware. I didn't have a sense of photographic history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-ritts/when-you-start-out-you-re-not-really-aware-i-didn-t-have-a-sense-of/) [Herb Ritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-ritts/) > [Art photography, although long since legitimized by all the conventional discourses of fine art, seems destined perpetually to recapitulate all the rituals of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-solomon-godeau/art-photography-although-long-since-legitimized-by-all-the/) [Abigail Solomon-Godeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-solomon-godeau/) > [I wish to state emphatically that I do not believe in any sort of handwork or manipulation on a photographic negative or print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-langdon-coburn/i-wish-to-state-emphatically-that-i-do-not-believe-in-any-sort-of/) [Alvin Langdon Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-langdon-coburn/) > [“Ordinary language fixes the difference between handmade images like Goya's and photographs by the convention that artists "make" drawings and paintings while photographers "take"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/ordinary-language-fixes-the-difference-between-handmade-images-like/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The fundamental peculiarity of the photographic medium; the physical objects themselves print their image by means of the optical and chemical action of light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/the-fundamental-peculiarity-of-the-photographic-medium-the-physical/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Knowing a great deal about what is in the world art, catastrophe, the beauties of nature through photographic images, people are frequently disappointed, surprised,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/knowing-a-great-deal-about-what-is-in-the-world-art-catastrophe-the/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [You can approach 'The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death' in a variety or combination of ways: as a startlingly eccentric hobby; as a series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/you-can-approach-the-nutshell-studies-of-unexplained-death-in-a/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [A photograph is a meeting place where the interests of the photographer, the photographed, the viewer and those who are using the photograph are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/a-photograph-is-a-meeting-place-where-the-interests-of-the/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [I have a photographic memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holland/i-have-a-photographic-memory/) [Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holland/) > [A photographic close-up is perhaps the purest form of portraiture, creating a confrontation between the viewer and the subject that daily interaction makes impossible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schoeller/a-photographic-close-up-is-perhaps-the-purest-form-of-portraiture/) [Martin Schoeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schoeller/) > [In my photographic work I'm generally attracted to places that contain memories, history, atmospheres and stories. I'm interested in the places where people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/in-my-photographic-work-i-m-generally-attracted-to-places-that/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/from-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-insecure-about-my/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-photographic-portrait-is-a-picture-of-someone-who-knows-he-is-being/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I have a photographic memory; I just haven't developed it yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/i-have-a-photographic-memory-i-just-haven-t-developed-it-yet/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) > [While a painting, even one that meets photographic standards of resemblance, is never more than the stating of an interpretation, a photograph is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/while-a-painting-even-one-that-meets-photographic-standards-of/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More by Martha Rosler > [Just going out on a foray to assemble a collection of street trophies about this or that running social sore can't be effective -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/just-going-out-on-a-foray-to-assemble-a-collection-of-street-trophies/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [ Photography \[can\] be seen as a system of representation that you bring to bear on other systems. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/photography-can-be-seen-as-a-system-of-representation-that-you-bring/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [So much of my work involved the Vietnam War that it would have been obscene to show it in a gallery. But now, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/so-much-of-my-work-involved-the-vietnam-war-that-it-would-have-been/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [Take the Money and Run? Can Political and Socio-Critical Art ‘Survive’?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/take-the-money-and-run-can-political-and-socio-critical-art-survive/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [“Artists and activists offend the sensibilities of the rule-bound when they interfere with people”s ability to accept things in the private realm as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/artists-and-activists-offend-the-sensibilities-of-the-rule-bound-when/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [The exposé, the compassion and outrage, of documentary fueled by the dedication to reform has shaded over into combinations of exoticism, tourism, voyeurism, psychologism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/the-expos-the-compassion-and-outrage-of-documentary-fueled-by-the/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [How useful are documentary photographs if there is no follow up, no way of knowing what happened next in the story?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/how-useful-are-documentary-photographs-if-there-is-no-follow-up-no/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [Are we asserting the easy dominion of our civilization over all times and all places, as signs that we casually absorb as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/are-we-asserting-the-easy-dominion-of-our-civilization-over-all-times/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [Documentary is a little like horror movies, putting a face on fear and transforming threat into fantasy, into imagery. One can handle imagery by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/documentary-is-a-little-like-horror-movies-putting-a-face-on-fear-and/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [I was concerned with something like the notion of 'language speaking the subject,' and with the transformation of the woman herself into a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/i-was-concerned-with-something-like-the-notion-of-language-speaking/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) > [The question at hand is the danger posed to truth by computer-manipulated photographic imagery. How do we approach this question in a period in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/the-question-at-hand-is-the-danger-posed-to-truth-by-computer/) [Martha Rosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) [Explore all 12 Martha Rosler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/) ## More Familiarity quotes > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [You have to know that you have to have familiarity with the artist that you want to be, but there's so much about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-barbaro/you-have-to-know-that-you-have-to-have-familiarity-with-the-artist/) [Monica Barbaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-barbaro/) > [I'm sure there are a lot of Italians who refer to themselves as goombahs and greaseballs and whatever. That's what people do. It gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-l-jackson/i-m-sure-there-are-a-lot-of-italians-who-refer-to-themselves-as/) [Samuel L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-l-jackson/) > [“And when I look into his eyes there’s a feeling of something I can only describe as familiarity, a sense of safety. Like coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-james/and-when-i-look-into-his-eyes-there-s-a-feeling-of-something-i-can/) [Rebecca James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-james/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) [Alexander Agassiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-agassiz/) > [Vulgar and inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge, and conceive themselves informed of the whole nature of things, when they are shown their form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/vulgar-and-inactive-minds-confound-familiarity-with-knowledge-and/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is familiarity with life that makes time speed quickly. When every day is a step in the unknown, as for children, the days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/it-is-familiarity-with-life-that-makes-time-speed-quickly-when-every/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [When the writing is good, a book becomes a mirror. The reader will see an uncanny familiarity and respond accordingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-knox/when-the-writing-is-good-a-book-becomes-a-mirror-the-reader-will-see/) [Jen Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-knox/) > [Today the greatest single deterrent to knowledge of Jesus is His familiarity. Because we think we know Him, we pass Him by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-kirkland/today-the-greatest-single-deterrent-to-knowledge-of-jesus-is-his/) [Winifred Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-kirkland/) > [When you've worked in the same place for 13 years, when things go well, you know how to keep it going well. When things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/when-you-ve-worked-in-the-same-place-for-13-years-when-things-go-well/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen if the eye is too near.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-hues-of-the-opal-the-light-of-the-diamond-are-not-to-be-seen-if/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/all-all-are-gone-the-old-familiar-faces/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [But while ignorance can make you insensitive, familiarity can also numb. Entering the second half-century of an information age, our cumulative knowledge has changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/but-while-ignorance-can-make-you-insensitive-familiarity-can-also/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Browse all 454 Familiarity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiarity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any familiarity with photographic history shows that manipulation is integral to photography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Rosler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/any-familiarity-with-photographic-history-shows-that-manipulation-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Familiarity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/any-familiarity-with-photographic-history-shows-that-manipulation-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/martha-rosler-37642_familiarity_any-familiarity-with-photographic-histor_2025281.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any familiarity with photographic history shows that manipulation is integral to photography.” — Martha Rosler", "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": "Martha Rosler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-rosler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any familiarity with photographic history shows...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/any-familiarity-with-photographic-history-shows-that-manipulation-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-rosler/any-familiarity-with-photographic-history-shows-that-manipulation-is/#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 } } ] } ```