“It has been said…that photography is most at home with bad news. If there is a kernel of truth in this depressing accusation, it might related to Tolstoy’s outrageous calumny about happy families – that they are all alike, whereas each unhappy family is unique. The truth is that what we call happy families are not really alike, but art (unlike philosophy) does its work by citing the specific, rather than invoking general principles, and it does seem to be true that the specifics of bad news are easier to make use of artistically than the specifics of happiness.” –John Szarkowski
My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life
