--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For photography to be an art involves…" description: "\"For photography to be an art involves reformulating notions of art, rejecting both material and formal purism and also the separation of art from comme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg" --- # For photography to be an art involves reformulating… ![“For photography to be an art involves reformulating notions of art, rejecting both material and formal purism and also the separation of art from commerce as distinct semiotic practices that never interlock.” quote by Peter Wollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg) > “For photography to be an art involves reformulating notions of art, rejecting both material and formal purism and also the separation of art from commerce as distinct semiotic practices that never interlock.” [Peter Wollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic photography requires redefining art, rejecting purity, and integrating commerce and semiotics. **In simple terms:** Photography art blends theory, commerce, and meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace interdisciplinary approaches in visual art. Themes art theory semiotics commerce Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery c - advertising - educational curricula - art criticism Key Concepts materialism formalism interdisciplinary practice Questions to Reflect On - Can art remain pure while commercial? - How does semiotics shape visual perception? A Different Perspective Pure aesthetic focus may ignore market realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Involves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-involves-1124289/) [Art Rejecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-rejecting-3870288/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [Formal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-art/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Reformulating Notions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformulating-notions-3870289/) [Rejecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejecting/) [Semiotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semiotics/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Separation Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation-art-927414/) ## Related quotes > [I enjoy looking, learning, smiling, and engaging with art, sometimes even rejecting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-von-thurn-und-taxis/i-enjoy-looking-learning-smiling-and-engaging-with-art-sometimes-even/) [Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-von-thurn-und-taxis/) > [One of the main causes of our artistic decline lies beyond doubt in the separation of art and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/one-of-the-main-causes-of-our-artistic-decline-lies-beyond-doubt-in/) [Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/) > [I don't believe that there is a separation between art and political consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-don-t-believe-that-there-is-a-separation-between-art-and-political/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [Every good piece of art... involves first essentially the evidence of human skill, and the formation of an actually beautiful thing by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/every-good-piece-of-art-involves-first-essentially-the-evidence-of/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The beautification of the world is not a work of nature, but a work of art, then it involves an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-beautification-of-the-world-is-not-a-work-of-nature-but-a-work-of/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Concrete, Steel & Paint portrays the core values of restorative justice-respect, responsibility and relationships-expressed through art. it is art that involves victims, offenders and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zehr/concrete-steel-paint-portrays-the-core-values-of-restorative-justice/) [Howard Zehr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zehr/) > [The business of every art is to bring something into existence, and the practice of an art involves the study of how to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-business-of-every-art-is-to-bring-something-into-existence-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Architecture exhibits the greatest extent of the difference from nature which may exist in works of art. It involves all the powers of design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/architecture-exhibits-the-greatest-extent-of-the-difference-from/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“All art involves conscious discipline. If one is going to paint, do sculpture, design a building or write a book, it will involve discipline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/all-art-involves-conscious-discipline-if-one-is-going-to-paint-do/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [Artschwager's art always involves looking closely at surfaces, questions what an object is, wants to make you forget the name of the thing you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/artschwager-s-art-always-involves-looking-closely-at-surfaces/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I think comedy as an art involves the audience as a participant as much as is involves the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-think-comedy-as-an-art-involves-the-audience-as-a-participant-as/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [... the battle for the acceptance of photography as Art was not only counter-productive but counter-revolutionary. The most important photography is most emphatically not Art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/the-battle-for-the-acceptance-of-photography-as-art-was-not-only/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [Some people's photography is an art. Mine is not. If they happen to be exhibited in a gallery or a museum, that's fine. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/some-people-s-photography-is-an-art-mine-is-not-if-they-happen-to-be/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [Some people's photography is an art. Not mine. Art is a dirty word in photography. All this fine art crap is killing it already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/some-people-s-photography-is-an-art-not-mine-art-is-a-dirty-word-in/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/it-is-easy-to-take-a-photograph-but-it-is-harder-to-make-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## More by Peter Wollen > [The aesthetic discussion of photography is dominated by the concept of time. Photographs appear as devices stopping time and preserving fragments of the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/the-aesthetic-discussion-of-photography-is-dominated-by-the-concept/) [Peter Wollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/) > [Photography is motionless and frozen, it has the cryogenic power to preserve objects through time without decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/photography-is-motionless-and-frozen-it-has-the-cryogenic-power-to/) [Peter Wollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/) > [The lover of photography is fascinated both by the instant and by the past. The moment captured in the image is of near-zero duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/the-lover-of-photography-is-fascinated-both-by-the-instant-and-by-the/) [Peter Wollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/) [Explore all 4 Peter Wollen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For photography to be an art involves reformulating notions of art, rejecting both material and formal purism and also the separation of art from commerce as distinct semiotic practices that never interlock.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Wollen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-reformulating-notions-of-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-reformulating-notions-of-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/peter-wollen-65991_art_for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-re_2051774.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For photography to be an art involves reformulating notions of art, rejecting both material and formal…” — Peter Wollen", "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": "Peter Wollen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wollen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For photography to be an art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-reformulating-notions-of-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wollen/for-photography-to-be-an-art-involves-reformulating-notions-of-art/#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 } } ] } ```