Diane Arbus: What She Knew Can Help You
“Most people go through life dreading they’ll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They’ve already passed their test in life. They’re aristocrats.”
— Diane Arbus
by Thea Fiore-Bloom, Ph.D.
Diane Arbus made photos that can blow your brain cap right off.
The kind of pictures that get you thinking about the nature of society and the mystery of being.
If you’re a curious creative you may want to discover more about how Arbus approached art-making.
So here are 4 lesser-known things about Diane (pronounced Dee-Ann) Arbus and her art practice that I’ve found surprising and enlivening.
My hope is that her wisdom will inspire, affirm, and enrich your creative process too.
4 Things You Don’t Know About Diane Arbus
1. The Power of Diane Arbus’s Portraits Came From Permission
The power of Diane Arbus’s portraits came from permission.
For Arbus, the subject of her photo (the person) was more important than the finished print.
Arbus didn’t exploit her subjects.
She asked for permission a heck of a lot.
Arbus honored her photographic subjects where they were at. She rarely posed people or moved things around in a room where she was shooting.
“I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don’t like to arrange things.
If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.”
— Diane Arbus
Like the great photographer Graciela Iturbide, Arbus knew the ironic fact that photos taken with permission contain more secrets than those shot without.
And for Arbus, secrets were everything.
2. Arbus Was A Keeper of Secrets
Diane Arbus was a keeper of secrets.
She often had intimate discussions with her subjects while she was photographing them.
And it wasn’t a one-way street. She divulged her secrets to her subjects as well.
But one thing I love about Arbus is she never disclosed the personal stories of those she photographed to the curious media.
Arbus wisely chose to let her subjects and images speak for themselves. She understood the power and potency of a secret.
“A photograph is a secret about a secret.
The more it tells you the less you know.”
— Diane Arbus
The subjects of Arbus’ work still have the ability to jump off the paper and speak to you about love, death or difference.
But the more you think they tell you, the less you know.
Arbus was fond of mysteries, both modern and ancient.
3. Diane Arbus Loved Ancient Mysteries and Myth
Arbus’s creativity was fed by Dante, Homer, Shakespeare, and the ancient Greek myths.
“From Black [her teacher at Fieldston School] she learned that myths are not invented but inspired; that they come from the same source as dreams, below the level of conscious.” (Bosworth, 29.)
Arbus loved myth and was fascinated by what psychologist Carl Jung would call the ancient archetypes of the collective unconscious.
I think this is why she photographed archetypal subjects like bodybuilders, flower girls, sword swallowers, cross-dressers as well as young lovers in the park. Those people were more real to her than young debutantes at society galas or rich golfers at exclusive country clubs.
A close friend of Arbus said something about Diane that could be applied to many of us artists and writers:
“To Diane, the real world was always the fantasy.”
Can you relate?
Two of Arbus’ favorite books as an adult were:
- The White Goddess by mythologist Robert Graves.
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
But despite her forays into “fantasy” Arbus was no hopeless romantic.
She got it that art was hard work. And mistakes were an important part of that work.
4. Diane Arbus Believed It Was Important to Take Bad Pictures
Arbus was a fan of taking bad pictures.
Like many prolific artists, Arbus knew mistakes were gold.
(For more on the connection between honoring mistakes and being prolific, read my post on what all creatives can learn from ADHD artists and writers.)
“Some pictures are tentative forays without your even knowing it. They become methods.
It’s important to take bad pictures.
It’s the bad ones that have to do with what you’ve never done before.
They can make you recognize something you hadn’t seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again.” — Diane Arbus
4 Diane Arbus-Inspired Take-Aways For Artists & Writers
- If you want to create work that transcends — ask permission.
- Closely guard the secrets of your models and muses.
- Don’t expect non-artists to be able to understand that mytholgy and dreams are often more real than day-to-day reality. Keep working your way, anyway.
- Allow your latest creative mistake to be the secret passage that leads you to find a new way your art will grow wings.
“The thing that’s important to know is that you never know.
You’re always sort of feeling your way.” — Diane Arbus
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Want to see more of Arbus’s work and hear more of her words?
This is a thoughtful, awesome, 29-minute documentary put together by Diane Arbus’ daughter Doon, the year after Diane Arbus took her own life in 1971.
If you liked this post you might also enjoy my post on Georgia O’Keeffe, Rachel Carson or Frida Kahlo. As well as 51 Blog Post Topics for Heart-Centered Artists.
Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Laureate: Genies, Junos, Junk Shops, and Genius
How Art Can Heal a Broken Heart
Alison Saar: Disrupting Classical Literature To Create Epic Modern Art
The Jonah Complex: How Artists Can Overcome Fear of Greatness
How to Submit Your Art to a Museum Store: Insider Tips from a Top Museum Store Manager
Also, check out our Mostly Free Resources for Artist’s Page for more tools and ideas to help your art practice bloom.
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What do you think?
Do you love Diane Arbus’s work?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thea:
For even the most intentional of us, there always seems to be a gap between our intentions and the results (in general, but especially as artists). Having read today’s CHARMED blog and watched the short documentary about Diane Arbus, I get the sense that Diane not only embraced the fact that “what the world serves-up” is hardly perfect, or what we desire or intend — yet it is what it is, and she seemed to accept this disparity and even seek-out the gaps — to deeply accept them for being what and how they are.
The metaphor of this for me — is that I have recently been photographing things I never took the time to notice before, and to see them anew and fresh. I recently began posting some of my gouache paintings and photographs on Instagram (account is: robanglin) and the powerful patterns or colors become far more important to the objects/subjects themselves. It is like learning to see differently. Some friends are confused about my photos of distortions through glass or water; color patterns or compositions that I used to walk right past; momentary transitions such as clouds or sunset lighting; or imaginary daydreams in my coffee or bowls of oatmeal. I think I am finding new ways of seeing what was always there, and I do realize that somehow there is something deeply personal in this quest, and that rather than impose my intentions of what my subject-matter is going to be — but rather to SEE what is already there to be discovered. This approach is turning out to be something very revealing — like a Rorschach Test: (What do I see?).
It is hard to put into words, yet I felt a certain kinship to how Diane seemed to take her subjects from a personal perspective with their permission), and that this approach revealed something (secret) about her subjects and about herself. She sought their permission —and gave us permission to SEE her through her work.
Thanks for introducing me to the work of Diane Arbus.
Great insights Ron. You are so welcome and thanks for taking the time to read the post, watch the video and leave this comment.
I think because Arbus passed no judgment on her subjects, and this allowed her and by extension, her viewer to see people differently. I’m coming to understand judgment takes the fun out of almost everything, doesn’t it? It is different from discernment. Have you ever read the work of Byron Katie? She is an eye-opener and is good for creatives IMO.
As far as friends not exactly understanding your work: I have a writing coaching client who is a great mentor for abstract painters and she says “the best thing you can do for your art is to close and lock your studio door. Don’t show your work until it’s ready and you are ready.” She believes if you show work too early, the comments or confusion of others, impact the direction you take it in.
I have been thinking about this myself.
What do you think?
Okay, be well. Keep watching clouds and water and all the other miracles passing by. 🙂
Thea, that article about Diane Arbus and her emotive work struck a chord. Laying bare secrets is what I often do in my work. Thank you!
Thanks, Sylvia, yes I can see that secrets and their unveiling might play a role in your work, how cool. You may know this already but in case you don’t: the alchemists valued Hermes because not only was he a god of magic, but also because he was the god of secrets and containment. Hermes (Trismegistus) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_Trismegistus was thought to have a role in magically sealing the content of the alchemist’s alembic vessels so transformations could take place within them. That is why we still use the term Hermetically Sealed.
Are secrets a powerful source of material for artists because they contain an element of…magic or potency?
What is your take on that?
haha. I own that little book! When I post my work on IG, I use hashtags like “alchemist or artmagic. That’s how I see myself. I believe that secrets, symbolisms and personal belongings with a history are powerful artistic tools. Most observers of our art can intuitively deduce the meaning for themselves. That’s where the magic comes in. It can be altered at any time. That’s just my take on it.
Of course you knew about that, I had a feeling you might! Such a wondrous take thanks Sylvia. Also you give myself and others a lesson in what I call “meaningful marketing.” You use tags that are about your deep self. So instead of just using the tag “found object art ” or “assemblage” you say “alchemist” or “artmagic”. And that not only draws to you those who are truly interested in what your art is all about at the soul level, it allows you to have fun tagging your work. It allows you to add meaning and joy with the day to day aspect of your art business. You are cool Sylvia.
I love this blog. My two favorite photographers are
Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus. I love the real, quirky, unusual people. The anti-beautiful people photography. So, so much more interesting.
Denise, are you reading my journal? Lol. I thought of doing the next blog on Vivian Maier! “Anti-beautiful people photography” is ingenious. Thanks for commenting. I wonder if Maier ever saw any Arbus photography in her life?
Here’s a quote for the day:
“Well, I suppose nothing is meant to last forever. We have to make room for other people. It’s a wheel. You get on, you have to go to the end. And then somebody has the same opportunity to go to the end and so on.” – Vivian Maier
So true. I just wish some people in politics would get to that end faster! Just Kidding? Nah
LOL. It’s true though nothing, both wondrous or hellish, can last forever, chin up.
This is so wonderful! She captured a vision of people’s souls. She uncovered the secret of an aspect of who somebody was. That’s so important. When you are in a place of permission you are in a place of vulnerability and you see someones true essence. I love that she was interested in archetypes. She captured them that’s why her work is so compelling and your eye is just drawn to the people. You did such a beautiful job explaining her and why we see what we see! Eureka!! Thank you once again, Thea. It is a beautiful piece.
Yes! Thank you for your kind comment Gale. Perhaps Arbus gave them permission to see her so they allowed her to see them. You have to be vulnerable to ask for permission right? So it’s a risk, most photographers opt out of. I am really beginning to get the beauty of permission as I get older. By going against the grain of the tenets of street photography ( which says no permission necessary) perhaps Arbus cracked open a whole new world for herself and her viewers.