On Looking Quotes

“Part of what restricts us seeing things is that we have an expectation about what we will see, and we are actually perceptually restricted by that expectation. In a sense, expectation is the lost cousin of attention: both serve to reduce what we need to process of the world "out there". Attention is the more charismatic member, packaged and sold more effectively, but expectation is also a crucial part of what we see. Together they allow us to be functional, reducing the sensory chaos of the world into unbothersome and understandable units.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes

“Part of seeing what is on an ordinary block is seeing that everything visible has a history. It arrived at the spot where you found it at some time, was crafted or whittled or forged at some time, filled a certain role or existed for a particular function. It was touched by someone (or no one), and touches someone (or no one) now.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“A walk is exploring surfaces and textures with finger, toe, and—yuck—tongue; standing still and seeing who or what comes by; trying out different forms of locomotion (among them running, marching, high-kicking, galloping, scooting, projectile falling, spinning, and noisy shuffling). It is archeology: exploring the bit of discarded candy wrapper; collecting a fistful of pebbles and a twig and a torn corner of a paperback; swishing dirt back and forth along the ground. It is stopping to admire the murmuring of the breeze in the trees; locating the source of the bird’s song; pointing. Pointing!— using the arm to extend one’s fallen gaze so someone else can see what you’ve seen. It is a time of sharing. On our block,”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“To the child, as to the artist, everything is relevant, little is unseen. The artist seems to retain something of the child's visual strategy: how to look at the world before knowing (or without thinking about) the name or function of everything that catches the eye.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes

“The other part of seeing what is on the block is appreciating how limited our own view is. We are limited by our sensory abilities, by our species membership, by our narrow attention—at least the last of which can be overcome.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“Do not sag with exhaustion. There is no mandate; only opportunity. Our culture fosters inattention; we are all creatures of that culture. But by making your way through this book—by merely picking it up, perhaps—you, reader, are in a new culture, one that values looking. The unbelievable strata of trifling, tremendous things to observe are there for the observing. Look!”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“The air was already drunk with humidity when I stepped outside on that first morning.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes

“In the Netherlands, the traffic engineer Hans Monderman came up with the idea of a “naked street,” empty of all these safety accoutrements. His idea was that by forcing us to look at each other—walker to walker, walker to driver, driver to driver—we could use eye contact to negotiate our routes.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“We must always say what we see, but above all and more difficult, we must always see what we see.” (Le Corbusier)”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“thigmotaxic: a splendid word to describe an animal who likes to walk along walls, touching something as it goes.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“Words are the ample cleavage of the urban environment: impossible not to look at.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“To find new things, take the path you took yesterday.” (John Burroughs)”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“We see, but we do not see: we use our eyes, but our gaze is glancing, frivolously considering its object. We see the signs, but not their meanings. We are not blinded, but we have blinders.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation

“Little is as convincing of the naturalness of the city as the process of weathering.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes

“He was blessed with the ability to admire the unlovely. Or, I should say, he was blessed with the inability to feel there is a difference between lovely and un-.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes

“The result of these walks on my head is tangible: they refined what I can see.”
― Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation