--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps 'photography' has become so…" description: "\"Perhaps 'photography' has become so all-pervasive that it no longer makes sense to think about it as a discreet practice or field of inquiry. In other ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/trevor-paglen-4201_photography_perhaps-photography-has-become-so-all-pe_2133463.png" --- # Perhaps 'photography' has become so all-pervasive that it… ![“Perhaps 'photography' has become so all-pervasive that it no longer makes sense to think about it as a discreet practice or field of inquiry. In other words, perhaps 'photography,' as a meaningful cultural trope, is over.” quote by Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/trevor-paglen-4201_photography_perhaps-photography-has-become-so-all-pe_2133463.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/trevor-paglen-4201_photography_perhaps-photography-has-become-so-all-pe_2133463.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/trevor-paglen-4201_photography_perhaps-photography-has-become-so-all-pe_2133463.png) > “Perhaps 'photography' has become so all-pervasive that it no longer makes sense to think about it as a discreet practice or field of inquiry. In other words, perhaps 'photography,' as a meaningful cultural trope, is over.” [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. Photography’s ubiquity blurs its artistic boundaries, turning it into a cultural norm. **In simple terms:** Photography is everywhere, losing its distinct identity. Key Takeaway Recognize and preserve intentional photographic practice. Themes art culture technology Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - advertising - social media - documentary work Key Concepts Visual culture surveillance aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - In what ways does pervasive photography affect your perception? - How can photographers maintain purpose in a saturated market? A Different Perspective Ubiquity can also democratize expression, not just dilute it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultural Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-trope-4408428/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-meaningful-4408426/) [Photography Pervasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-pervasive-4408427/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trope/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-photography-3041375/) ## Related quotes > [The traditional difficulty of balancing the mechanical with the imaginative schools of photography still operates. In schools of photography meaningful art education is often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-scharf/the-traditional-difficulty-of-balancing-the-mechanical-with-the/) [Aaron Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-scharf/) > [Now, at a moment when photography is so pervasive that it's been forced to grapple with its own identity and look inward, it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-daignault/now-at-a-moment-when-photography-is-so-pervasive-that-it-s-been/) [Cynthia Daignault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-daignault/) > [We don't have enough words for photography. 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In real life, it is often dangerous to demand more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-zhang/i-m-drawn-to-the-figure-of-the-ungrateful-subaltern-as-a-trope-in/) [Jenny Zhang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-zhang/) > [Ever since 'Single White Female,' the 1990 novel which was turned into a supremely scary film, the idea of a seemingly normal woman who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/ever-since-single-white-female-the-1990-novel-which-was-turned-into-a/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [I try to stay away from tropes, or if there is a trope there, I ensure that it's cleverly written and isn't just lazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-pearson/i-try-to-stay-away-from-tropes-or-if-there-is-a-trope-there-i-ensure/) [Adam Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-pearson/) > [In mainstream literature, a trope is a figure of speech: metaphor, simile, irony, or the like. Words used other than literally. In SF, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/in-mainstream-literature-a-trope-is-a-figure-of-speech-metaphor/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [“Do you mean to tell me, Superintendent, that this is one of those damned cases you get in detective stories where a man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/do-you-mean-to-tell-me-superintendent-that-this-is-one-of-those/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) ## 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. 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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 Photography quotes > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [As far as Vern and I go, we have had situations where people have tried to take photographs of me and cut Vernon out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/as-far-as-vern-and-i-go-we-have-had-situations-where-people-have/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-jason-leigh/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-do-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-pictures-is/) [Jennifer Jason Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-jason-leigh/) > [“She realized that the photograph had caused his reaction. It came to her almost as a revelation. Think of it: a photographer presses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/she-realized-that-the-photograph-had-caused-his-reaction-it-came-to/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [“Now there was photographic evidence of me with a girl. Lindsey pack the camera in her duffel while I contemplated the film inside it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/now-there-was-photographic-evidence-of-me-with-a-girl-lindsey-pack/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [All the pictures on the walls, they all white as lilies and smiling like alligators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/all-the-pictures-on-the-walls-they-all-white-as-lilies-and-smiling/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. 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