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Books Quote by Walker Evans

“The photographs are not illustrative. They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative. By their fewness, and by the importance of the reader’s eye, this will be misunderstood by most of that minority which does not wholly ignore it. In the interests, however, of the…” quote by Walker Evans
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“The photographs are not illustrative. They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative. By their fewness, and by the importance of the reader’s eye, this will be misunderstood by most of that minority which does not wholly ignore it. In the interests, however, of the history and future of photography, that risk seems irrelevant, and this flat statement necessary.”

Walker Evans

About This Quote

Source Essay: Unknown, 20th century

Photos and text are equal, independent, and collaborative; readers may misunderstand, but the risk is irrelevant for photography’s future.

In simple terms: Photos and text collaborate equally.

Key Takeaway

Treat visual and textual elements as partners.

Themes

art communication interpretation

Mood

analytical reflective

Type

critical theoretical

When to use this quote

  • publishing
  • education
  • exhibition design

Key Concepts

media theory visual literacy

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you balance visual and textual storytelling?
  • When does collaboration fail?
A Different Perspective

May be overly idealistic about reader engagement.

3.2 out of 5 (7 ratings)

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