--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Taking photographs is generally an act of…" description: "\"Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the object, whereas 'being seen' or 'showing' is what is most interest to one who does a self-por..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg" --- # Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the… ![“Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the object, whereas 'being seen' or 'showing' is what is most interest to one who does a self-portrait...self-portraits deny not only photography itself but the 20th century as an era as well...an inevitable phenomenon at the end of the 20th…” quote by Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg) > “Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the object, whereas 'being seen' or 'showing' is what is most interest to one who does a self-portrait...self-portraits deny not only photography itself but the 20th century as an era as well...an inevitable phenomenon at the end of the 20th century.” [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography looks outward; self‑portrait flips the gaze, challenging traditional photography and reflecting 20th‑century cultural shifts. **In simple terms:** Self‑portraits reverse the gaze. Key Takeaway Question visual perspective. Themes art self‑portrait culture media theory Mood analytical contemplative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery shows - art criticism - media studies - cultural analysis Key Concepts visual perception identity construction Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑portraiture alter viewer perception? - What does it say about 20th‑century identity? A Different Perspective May alienate traditional viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eras/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self portrait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-portrait/) [Self portrait photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-portrait-photography/) ## Related quotes > [I loathe my own face, and I've done self-portraits because I've had nobody else to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-loathe-my-own-face-and-i-ve-done-self-portraits-because-i-ve-had/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I think self-portraits are very difficult. I’ve always seen mine as straightforward, very stripped down, hair pulled back. No shirt. Whatever light happened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-think-self-portraits-are-very-difficult-i-ve-always-seen-mine-as/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. Pimples are a temporary condition and they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/when-i-did-my-self-portrait-i-left-all-the-pimples-out-because-you/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I've heard many times that with all good artists it's ultimately a self-portrait even if it's an abstraction. I feel my work is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-ve-heard-many-times-that-with-all-good-artists-it-s-ultimately-a/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [The tool of every self-portrait is the mirror. You see yourself in it. Turn it the other way, and you see the world .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/the-tool-of-every-self-portrait-is-the-mirror-you-see-yourself-in-it/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [An act of naming should quite rightly enable me to call any-thing a self-portrait, not only any drawing, 'portrait' or not, but everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/an-act-of-naming-should-quite-rightly-enable-me-to-call-any-thing-a/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [I have never painted a self-portrait. I am less interested in myself as a subject for a painting than I am in other people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-klimt/i-have-never-painted-a-self-portrait-i-am-less-interested-in-myself/) [Gustav Klimt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-klimt/) > [I have read all of Daniel Aaron's books, and admired them, but in The Americanist I believe he has composed an intellectual and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-have-read-all-of-daniel-aaron-s-books-and-admired-them-but-in-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The self-portrait is an act of objectifying the self and in that regard is a unique form of portraiture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-silverman/the-self-portrait-is-an-act-of-objectifying-the-self-and-in-that/) [Burton Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-silverman/) > [Everything is a self-portrait. Everything is a diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/everything-is-a-self-portrait-everything-is-a-diary/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I am living a new and exalted life of late. It steeps me in a sacred rapture to see a portrait develop and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-living-a-new-and-exalted-life-of-late-it-steeps-me-in-a-sacred/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It says in the Bible, in plain words, that God made a self-portrait. He created man in His own image - man and woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thor-heyerdahl/it-says-in-the-bible-in-plain-words-that-god-made-a-self-portrait-he/) [Thor Heyerdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thor-heyerdahl/) > [In a sense, every work you do is a self-portrait because your paintings always reveal more about you than about your subject. Your experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/in-a-sense-every-work-you-do-is-a-self-portrait-because-your/) [Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/) > [Bodybuilding is an art, your body is the canvas, weights are your brush and nutrition is your paint. We all have the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-greene/bodybuilding-is-an-art-your-body-is-the-canvas-weights-are-your-brush/) [Kai Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-greene/) > [Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Every job is a self portrait of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/unless-you-try-to-do-something-beyond-what-you-have-already-mastered/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) ## More by Yasumasa Morimura > [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Even Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were entertainers. In that way, I am an entertainer and want to make art that is fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/even-michelangelo-and-leonardo-da-vinci-were-entertainers-in-that-way/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [ I planned the exhibition so that it becomes a story where the viewer travels through these islands \[of ideas\]. Whether the contents of each… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/i-planned-the-exhibition-so-that-it-becomes-a-story-where-the-viewer/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [I have always thought that it would be nice to not complete the exhibition in one place and close off the others as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/i-have-always-thought-that-it-would-be-nice-to-not-complete-the/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury raised cautions against mass media, especially the television, which dumb down human sensibilities and coerce everybody's thoughts into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/in-fahrenheit-451-ray-bradbury-raised-cautions-against-mass-media/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [The artists could be dead, but some of them are not so distant from us, and make us feel as if they are alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/the-artists-could-be-dead-but-some-of-them-are-not-so-distant-from-us/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Of course, the process of curating is different from art making. Exhibition-making is a process that involves collaboration with various participating artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/of-course-the-process-of-curating-is-different-from-art-making/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Of course, I, like the sponsoring government, would like to have as many people as possible visit Yokohama Triennale. This is because I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/of-course-i-like-the-sponsoring-government-would-like-to-have-as-many/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [To think about "oblivion" is to think about "what art is".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/to-think-about-oblivion-is-to-think-about-what-art-is/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [I was worried that I, the artist Morimura, would have conflicts with the participating artists and develop a strenuous relationship with them. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/i-was-worried-that-i-the-artist-morimura-would-have-conflicts-with/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > ["Triennale in the City" is a scheme that is of priority for the sponsoring local government. For many local governments, revitalization is an important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/triennale-in-the-city-is-a-scheme-that-is-of-priority-for-the/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [I put priority on such artists who focus on the world of "oblivion" and who consider placing themselves into the world of "oblivion" as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/i-put-priority-on-such-artists-who-focus-on-the-world-of-oblivion-and/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Art is basically entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/art-is-basically-entertainment/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > ["Art is the ability to turn one's gaze to the world of oblivion." This is the way in which I understand art at fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/art-is-the-ability-to-turn-one-s-gaze-to-the-world-of-oblivion-this/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [By putting a border line between life and death, we separate the world of death from our world of life, casting the dead away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/by-putting-a-border-line-between-life-and-death-we-separate-the-world/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) [Explore all 21 Yasumasa Morimura quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the object, whereas 'being seen' or 'showing' is what is most interest to one who does a self-portrait...self-portraits deny not only photography itself but the 20th century as an era as well...an inevitable phenomenon at the end of the 20th century.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yasumasa Morimura" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-of-looking-at-the-object/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "20th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-of-looking-at-the-object/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/yasumasa-morimura-27200_20th-century_taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-o_2585489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Taking photographs is generally an act of 'looking at the object, whereas 'being seen' or 'showing' is what…” — Yasumasa Morimura", "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": "Yasumasa Morimura", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Taking photographs is generally an act...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-of-looking-at-the-object/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/taking-photographs-is-generally-an-act-of-looking-at-the-object/#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 } } ] } ```