--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Image-making, along with storytelling and…" description: "\"Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the stuff that culture is made out of.\" — Trevor Paglen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png" --- # Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the… ![“Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the stuff that culture is made out of.” quote by Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png) > “Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the stuff that culture is made out of.” [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Culture is built from visual, narrative, and musical elements that shape collective identity. **In simple terms:** Culture consists of images, stories, and music. Key Takeaway Recognize and create cultural artifacts. Themes culture art storytelling music identity Mood reflective inspirational Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - museum curation - film making - music composition - community storytelling - educational workshops Key Concepts media theory cultural production interdisciplinary art Questions to Reflect On - How do visual arts influence societal values? - What role does music play in preserving history? A Different Perspective May overlook non‑Western cultural forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Image Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image-making-949713/) [Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making/) [Making Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-storytelling-2571174/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Storytelling Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling-music-2571173/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Stuff Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff-culture-2571172/) ## Related quotes > [I think the crux of this urgent and real conversation about representation and diversity in art-making and storytelling both behind and in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karyn-kusama/i-think-the-crux-of-this-urgent-and-real-conversation-about/) [Karyn Kusama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karyn-kusama/) > [Storytelling with music is a really powerful device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-harrison/storytelling-with-music-is-a-really-powerful-device/) [Randy Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-harrison/) > [There's been a great development with scale on TV, but my approach is always the same across projects, whether it's a video game, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-djawadi/there-s-been-a-great-development-with-scale-on-tv-but-my-approach-is/) [Ramin Djawadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-djawadi/) > [To use an image, making a film is like climbing a mountain or crossing an ocean. Every day has its challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdellatif-kechiche/to-use-an-image-making-a-film-is-like-climbing-a-mountain-or-crossing/) [Abdellatif Kechiche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdellatif-kechiche/) > [The camera creates a magical transformation. It's not enough to exist; we must chronicle that existence. ... Narrative- and image-making creatures like humans don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-camera-creates-a-magical-transformation-it-s-not-enough-to-exist/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The camera is the instrument that brings the inner passion and the outward event into harmony with one another, this linking, or, rather, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/the-camera-is-the-instrument-that-brings-the-inner-passion-and-the/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [All art is image making and all image making is the creation of substitutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-gombrich/all-art-is-image-making-and-all-image-making-is-the-creation-of/) [Ernst Gombrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-gombrich/) > [I've never seen a surface that I think is more seductive in image making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sexton/i-ve-never-seen-a-surface-that-i-think-is-more-seductive-in-image/) [John Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sexton/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [I love making movies, and being in any that I can be in. I'd like to be in those giant movies, as the fifth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-love-making-movies-and-being-in-any-that-i-can-be-in-i-d-like-to-be/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I think taking a hookline of a hit song and making a new song is fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-kumar/i-think-taking-a-hookline-of-a-hit-song-and-making-a-new-song-is-fun/) [Tulsi Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-kumar/) ## More by Trevor Paglen > [I believe that art can make relevant and progressive contributions to culture and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-believe-that-art-can-make-relevant-and-progressive-contributions-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Photography has become so fundamental to the way we see that 'photography' and 'seeing' are becoming more and more synonymous. The ubiquity of photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/photography-has-become-so-fundamental-to-the-way-we-see-that/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-m-pretty-cynical-about-the-future-but-i-feel-like-that-s-not-an/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Civilian law around aviation is much looser than those governing military. Civilian planes can basically fly wherever they want in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/civilian-law-around-aviation-is-much-looser-than-those-governing/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I think the automation of vision is a much bigger deal than the invention of perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-think-the-automation-of-vision-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Many of the things that shape the way the world looks are, quite frankly, invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/many-of-the-things-that-shape-the-way-the-world-looks-are-quite/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Geosynchronous spacecraft will be among civilization's most enduring remnants, quietly circling Earth until the Earth is no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/geosynchronous-spacecraft-will-be-among-civilization-s-most-enduring/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Traditionally, images have functioned as representations of something in the world, but we are quickly approaching the point where vast majority of images are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/traditionally-images-have-functioned-as-representations-of-something/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Images can make realities out of people and struggles - the reality we give them. Images really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/images-can-make-realities-out-of-people-and-struggles-the-reality-we/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [It's productive and fun to try interpreting cave paintings, but ultimately, they can't teach us anything beyond what we imagine them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/it-s-productive-and-fun-to-try-interpreting-cave-paintings-but/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Anything humans can do in space, robots can do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/anything-humans-can-do-in-space-robots-can-do-better/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Before Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th Century, 'mystery religions,' organized around a central canon of secret knowledge, were widespread.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/before-christianity-became-the-roman-empire-s-official-religion-in/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [When we look up into the starry night sky, we tend to see reflections of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/when-we-look-up-into-the-starry-night-sky-we-tend-to-see-reflections/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [“The CIA, an agency designed to operate outside the law, was now free to pursue its vision of a new world, to create new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-cia-an-agency-designed-to-operate-outside-the-law-was-now-free-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Once, I got lost in the middle of the desert and had to follow the North Star to find the dirt road where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/once-i-got-lost-in-the-middle-of-the-desert-and-had-to-follow-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) [Explore all 114 Trevor Paglen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the stuff that culture is made out of.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Trevor Paglen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/image-making-along-with-storytelling-and-music-is-the-stuff-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/image-making-along-with-storytelling-and-music-is-the-stuff-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/trevor-paglen-4201_culture_image-making-along-with-storytelling-and_1869624.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Image-making, along with storytelling and music, is the stuff that culture is made out of.” — Trevor Paglen", "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": "Trevor Paglen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Image-making, along with storytelling and music,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/image-making-along-with-storytelling-and-music-is-the-stuff-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/image-making-along-with-storytelling-and-music-is-the-stuff-that/#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 } } ] } ```