Alfredo Jaar Quotes & Sayings

How many languages do we really speak? — Alfredo Jaar

I am suspicious and disillusioned about the uses and misuses of photography in the art world, the press, and the world of entertainment. And to make things more complicated, I don't think that the general public is well educated regarding images. Generally we are taught how to read, but we are not taught how to look. — Alfredo Jaar

As we all know, the objective and mission of the photojournalist is to show us the reality of the world. And in order to capture that reality, they go to dangerous and tragic places at the expense of their lives. I see them as the conscience of our humanity; they represent for me what is left of our humanity. — Alfredo Jaar

Journalistic information and presentation actually discourage action ... we think we know, and because we think we know, we think we care. But it stops there. — Alfredo Jaar

Images have an advanced religion; they bury history. — Alfredo Jaar

I remember her eyes. The eyes of Gutete Emerita. — Alfredo Jaar

We are the result of the stimulus we receive. — Alfredo Jaar

Our society is blind. We have lost our ability to be affected by imagery. — Alfredo Jaar

For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photograph is a picture that comes as close as possible to reality. But the camera never manages to record what your eyes see, or what you feel at the moment. The camera always creates a new reality. — Alfredo Jaar