--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I take pleasure in working with the…" description: "\"I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs that reside in public archives, essentially authorless and owned by the world itself, because I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg" --- # I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs… ![“I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs that reside in public archives, essentially authorless and owned by the world itself, because I find the world of fine art photography to be pretty silly and pretentious.” quote by Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg) > “I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs that reside in public archives, essentially authorless and owned by the world itself, because I find the world of fine art photography to be pretty silly and pretentious.” [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values public, authorless photographs for their democratic, unpretentious nature, contrasting them with fine art photography’s elitism. **In simple terms:** He prefers community-owned images over pretentious art. Key Takeaway Seek out public archives for authentic visual stories. Themes democracy authenticity art criticism culture accessibility Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - museum curation - educational projects - personal inspiration - community exhibitions Key Concepts public domain visual sociology archival studies Questions to Reflect On - How does ownership affect your perception of an image? - What value do you find in anonymity? A Different Perspective Fine art photography can still offer genuine insight despite perceived pretension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archives/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-photographs-3337096/) [Art photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-photography/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Fine art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-art/) [Fine arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-arts/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photographs Reside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-reside-3337094/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-pretty-2205334/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Silly Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly-pretentious-3337095/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I was always trying to take art photographs, but the most interesting pictures were the snapshots. The artsy pictures were boring, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/i-was-always-trying-to-take-art-photographs-but-the-most-interesting/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [I think photographers are too polite. There is not enough anger in photography; it's pretty much trivialized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-think-photographers-are-too-polite-there-is-not-enough-anger-in/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photography is pretty simple stuff. You just react to what you see, and take many, many pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/photography-is-pretty-simple-stuff-you-just-react-to-what-you-see-and/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [To make the essence of man visible in the exposure is the highest art of photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/to-make-the-essence-of-man-visible-in-the-exposure-is-the-highest-art/) [Friedrich Durrenmatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/) > [Contemporary art photography, or, more specifically, what I would term mainstream art photography, represents for the most part the mining of an exhausted lode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-solomon-godeau/contemporary-art-photography-or-more-specifically-what-i-would-term/) [Abigail Solomon-Godeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-solomon-godeau/) > [Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste, and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/leaving-aside-the-mysteries-and-the-inequities-of-human-talent-brains/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [ Edward \[Weston\] was the first artist - and I don't use the word lightly - to make a living doing art photography. Other photographers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rondal-partridge/edward-weston-was-the-first-artist-and-i-don-t-use-the-word-lightly/) [Rondal Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rondal-partridge/) > [It is a cruel, ironical art, photography. The dragging of captured moments into the future; moments that should have been allowed to be evaporate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-is-a-cruel-ironical-art-photography-the-dragging-of-captured/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Real photography is a wonderfully inclusive, democratic medium, whereas art photography is more often a private pursuit by conmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jones-griffiths/real-photography-is-a-wonderfully-inclusive-democratic-medium-whereas/) [Philip Jones Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jones-griffiths/) > [I love being photographed, or I should say I love the art of photography. It's about people taking photographs of you, stealing them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-love-being-photographed-or-i-should-say-i-love-the-art-of/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/personally-i-have-always-preferred-inspiration-to-information/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [“The art of photography is all about capturing emotions not events.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biju-karakkonam-nature-and-wildlife-photographer/the-art-of-photography-is-all-about-capturing-emotions-not-events/) [Biju Karakkonam, Nature and Wildlife Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biju-karakkonam-nature-and-wildlife-photographer/) > [A lot of people seem to think that art or photography is about the way things look, or the surface of things. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/a-lot-of-people-seem-to-think-that-art-or-photography-is-about-the/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [That celebrated marriage of science and art, photography, seemed at the time to join together how we look at the world, art, with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/that-celebrated-marriage-of-science-and-art-photography-seemed-at-the/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [“Photography wasn’t even considered part of the art world until fairly recently. I find it ironic that some people in the world of fine-art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-olsenius/photography-wasn-t-even-considered-part-of-the-art-world-until-fairly/) [Richard Olsenius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-olsenius/) ## More by Michael Light > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [The pilot says, "Where do you want to go?" and that's always a rather existential question, because naturally I think a bit about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/the-pilot-says-where-do-you-want-to-go-and-that-s-always-a-rather/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [When I go up, especially if I'm paying for a small helicopter and pilot, I'm on. I've got an hour and a half and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/when-i-go-up-especially-if-i-m-paying-for-a-small-helicopter-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [I am a photographer who likes to make images, but I also want to get a sense and understanding of images that have already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-am-a-photographer-who-likes-to-make-images-but-i-also-want-to-get-a/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [I come at a subject from a profoundly photographic level. I am not interested in pictures that ultimately don't work as pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-come-at-a-subject-from-a-profoundly-photographic-level-i-am-not/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [Los Angeles functions for me as a kind of holy template. It is postwar America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/los-angeles-functions-for-me-as-a-kind-of-holy-template-it-is-postwar/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [I have a profound passion for the act of flying. It's very freeing, with an intense physicality, but it also gives an Olympian, god's-eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-have-a-profound-passion-for-the-act-of-flying-it-s-very-freeing/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [Flying was certainly formative for me; I have a deep and lasting ease with it as a result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/flying-was-certainly-formative-for-me-i-have-a-deep-and-lasting-ease/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [Even in this age of digital manipulation, photographs continue to hold a huge degree of power and meaning. They're beautiful and sad and complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/even-in-this-age-of-digital-manipulation-photographs-continue-to-hold/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [I don't particularly care about photographic authorship. Whether an astronaut who doesn't even have a viewfinder makes an image, a robotic camera, a military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-don-t-particularly-care-about-photographic-authorship-whether-an/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [What better way to actually deal with L.A. than to get above it and engage with the horizontality and scale of the basin itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/what-better-way-to-actually-deal-with-l-a-than-to-get-above-it-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [We have not only the right, but a specific duty, to honestly and unflinchingly look at all aspects of our world, both the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/we-have-not-only-the-right-but-a-specific-duty-to-honestly-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [I love idyllic places and the kind of suspension of history they offer. 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It's like you want to archive it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stookey/whether-it-s-your-own-material-or-somebody-else-s-material-it-s/) [Paul Stookey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stookey/) [Browse all 164 Archives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs that reside in public archives, essentially authorless and owned by the world itself, because I find the world of fine art photography to be pretty silly and pretentious.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Light" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non-art-photographs-that-reside/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Archives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non-art-photographs-that-reside/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/michael-light-27155_archives_i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non_364122.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I take pleasure in working with the non-art photographs that reside in public archives, essentially…” — Michael Light", "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": "Michael Light", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I take pleasure in working with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non-art-photographs-that-reside/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-take-pleasure-in-working-with-the-non-art-photographs-that-reside/#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 } } ] } ```