“My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person.”
- Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol frustrates and inspires in equal measure. And no doubt this assessment of a good photograph will as well. Warhol loved fame. And he loved his Polaroid SX-70 (shown above in a photo by Oliviero Toscani) – Polaroid photos were everything he thought art should be: flat, affectless, and mechanically produced. His photos of the famous often served as the sources for his silk screens, which explains a bit the blown-out tones. In fact, his subjects almost seem to be developing out of their backgrounds.
And yet it’s funny to think of what this quote might mean today when a single Justin Biber photo can bring down Instagram. Perhaps now a good picture is considered to be one with a slightly fuzzier focus and is taken by a famous person.
Have photography quotes you love? Let us know in the comments, or tweet them with the hashtag #photoquotes.
