Harry Callahan Quotes

We forget that, although freedom of speech constitutes an important victory in the battle against old restraints, modern man is in a position where much of what "he" thinks and says are the things that everybody else thinks and says; that he has not acquired the ability to think originally - that is, for himself - which alone gives meaning to his claim that nobody can interfere with the expression of his thoughts.

In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized.

I've seen stand up comedy, and after a while you start to notice that a lot of people are doing things that are like a lot of other people. There can be a bit of a herd mentality, and that's obviously less interesting because there's less going on. I'm just being totally frank with you.

O imitators, you slavish herd!

Everyone takes pictures, so you need to have your own opinion.

If I am thinking the same as everyone why bother pushing to get it published?

Unless you are unique, your opinion goes out the window.

I guess, just being in a group, I had never thought to question my individual artistry.

The more you see somebody else's version of something, the harder it is to make it your own.

Many have original minds who do not think it - they are led away by custom!

Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist.

It wasn't that I was stupid ... It was just that there didn't seem to be a lot to say that someone wasn't already saying.

Why should we pay so much attention to what the majority thinks?

People are in a hurry to magnify themselves by imitating what is popular- and too lazy to think of anything better.

Human beings never think for themselves. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told - and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion.

Be one of the crowd? It went against everything a wizard stood for, and a wizard would not stand for anything if he could sit down for it, but even sitting down, you had to stand out.

I just sit there and try to think of stuff that I could do that's a little different but still not step outside of who I am.

If you try all different styles that are in vogue, I think you con yourself. Me, I just stick by my guns; I don't want to play out of another man's bag.

I think the enemy of creativity in the world today is that so much thinking is done for you.

Never follow a follower who is following someone who has fallen. Its why the whole world is falling apart.

I think talent, especially in acting, is being wholly yourself within the context of yourself.

I'm not a guy who likes cliches. I don't think that stereotypes and cliches are the end of the line, when it comes to a performance.

I think it's really important to make things your own in your voice. I started when I was 23, and in the beginning of my career, there was this expectation of a young designer being edgier, cooler, more downtown. But I was never that person.

No matter what I put out, no matter what genre - because I feel like I'm going to experiment with everything - I hope people will see that it's true to me, that it's honest, and nobody ever thinks that I'm inauthentic.

What other people think of me is not my business. What I do is what I do. How people see me doesn't change what I decide to do. I don't choose projects so people don't see me as one thing or another. I choose projects that excite me. I think the problem is that people refuse to understand what drag is outside of their own belief system.