Ben Shahn

An amateur is someone who supports himself with outside jobs which enable him to paint. A professional is someone whose wife works to enable him to paint. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#enable #him #himself #jobs #outside

I became interested in photography when I found my own sketching was inadequate. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#found #i #inadequate #interested #my own

I did take my camera along, as I felt there wouldn't be enough time to draw the things I wanted to do. I did some drawing and did a lot of photography but I was not part of Stryker's outfit at all. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#camera #did #draw #drawing #enough

I didn't care where my works were published. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#i #published #were #where #works

I feel, having the choices I had, I felt I had more control over my own medium than I did over photography. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#control #did #feel #felt #had

I remember traveling around in Arkansas with Senator Robinson, and I told him what this little trick was. He felt very much part of it and had me take pictures of people unbeknownst to them. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#around #felt #had #him #i

I still love to look at photographs but I couldn't do it myself anymore. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#i #look #love #myself #photographs

I was brought in, not in the photographic department at all, I was brought in on a thing called Special Skills. I was to do posters, pamphlets, murals, propaganda in general, you know. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#called #department #general #i #know

I was primarily interested in people, and people in action, so that I did nothing photographically in the sense of doing buildings for their own sake or a still life or anything like that. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#anything #buildings #did #doing #i

I've been asked a great deal about the influence I've had with my work and it's impossible to say, you know. ↗

— Ben Shahn

#asked #been #deal #great #great deal