Quotations

"Truth exists, only falsehood has to be invented."

— Georges Braque, French painter, born 1882

"To me photography must suggest, not insist or explain."

— Brassai, Hungarian photographer, born 1899

"I don't invent anything. I imagine everything... most of the time, I have drawn my images from the daily life around me. I think that it is by capturing reality in the humblest, most sincere, most everyday way I can, that I can penetrate to the extraordinary."

— Brassai, Hungarian photographer, born 1899

"My images were surreal simply in the sense that my vision brought out the fantastic dimension of reality. My only aim was to express reality, for there is nothing more surreal than reality itself. If reality fails to fill us with wonder, it is because we have fallen into the habit of seeing it as ordinary."

— Brassai, Hungarian photographer, born 1899

"We photographers are nothing but a pack of crooks, thieves and voyeurs. We are to be found everywhere we are not wanted; we betray secrets that were never entrusted to us; we spy shamelessly on things that are not our business; And end up the hoarders of a vast quantity of stolen goods."

— Brassai, Hungarian photographer, born 1899

"A poor photographer meets chance one out of a hundred times and a good photographer meets chance all the time."

— Brassai, Hungarian photographer, born 1899

"The word 'art' is very slippery. It really has no importance in relation to one's work. I work for the pleasure, for the pleasure of the work, and everything else is a matter for the critics."

— Manual Alvarez Bravo, Mexican photographer, born 1902

"Robot. Is. Sad. Because silly bitch. Will. Not. Dance."

— Libba Bray, American writer, born 1964

"We're all strangers connected by what we reveal, what we share, what we take away—our stories. I guess that's what I love about books—they are thin strands of humanity that tether us to one another for a small bit of time, that make us feel less alone or even more comfortable with our aloneness, if need be."

— Libba Bray, American writer, born 1964

"From the cradle to the coffin underwear comes first."

— Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, born 1898

"Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes."

— Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, born 1898

"Don't tell me peace has broken out."

— Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, born 1898

"The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word silent."

— Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, born 1931

"Silence is the essence of the music itself, the vital ingredient that makes it possible for the music to exist at all."

— Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, born 1931