Quotes about art and science

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“Art is the signature of civilizations.”

Beverly Sills (1929–2007) opera soprano

As quoted in The Beacon Book of Quotations by Women (1992) by Rosalie Maggio

“In the fabric of space and in the nature of matter, as in a great work of art, there is, written small, the artist’s signature.”

Carl Sagan book Contact

Source: Contact (1985), Chapter 24 (p. 431)
Context: The universe was made on purpose, the circle said. In whatever galaxy you happen to find yourself, you take the circumference of a circle, divide it by its diameter, measure closely enough, and uncover a miracle — another circle, drawn kilometers downstream of the decimal point. There would be richer messages farther in. It doesn't matter what you look like, or what you're made of, or where you come from. As long as you live in this universe, and have a modest talent for mathematics, sooner or later you'll find it. It's already here. It's inside everything. You don't have to leave your planet to find it. In the fabric of space and in the nature of matter, as in a great work of art, there is, written small, the artist’s signature. Standing over humans, gods, and demons, subsuming Caretakers and Tunnel builders, there is an intelligence that antedates the universe.

“I don't understand how people can stand next to you one year, and next year, they cannot. They're going crazy, screaming. They can't take it that you're there. But last year I was in the same club, walking around, lonely. Couldn't get a date or a dance. I was too skinny, too something, and now, "He's just adorable. He's just, oh!”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

Source: Resurrection, 1971-1996

“No matter what these people say about me, my music does not glorify any image, my music is spiritual if you listen to it. It's all about emotion, it's all about life.”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

1990s, Prison interviews and interrogations (1995)

“Each of us has a particular way of looking at the world, of interpreting events and the actions of people around us. This is our attitude, and it determines much of what happens to us in life. If our attitude is essentially fearful, we see the negative in every circumstance. We stop ourselves from taking chances. We blame others for mistakes and fail to learn from them. If we feel hostile or suspicious, we make others feel such emotions in our presence. We sabotage our career and relationships by unconsciously creating the circumstances we fear the most. The human attitude, however, is malleable. By making our attitude more positive, open, and tolerant of other people, we can spark a different dynamic—we can learn from adversity, create opportunities out of nothing, and draw people to us. We must explore the limits of our willpower and how far it can take us.”

Robert Greene (1959) American author

Chap. 8 : Change Your Circumstances by Changing Your Attitude
The Laws of Human Nature (2018)

“Love is friendship set to music.”

Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) American artist

“What I have to say is all in the music. If I want to say anything, I write a song.”

Paul McCartney (1942) English singer-songwriter and composer

“I started painting as a hobby when I was little. I didn't know I had any talent. I believe talent is just a pursued interest. Anybody can do what I do.”

Bob Ross (1942–1995) American painter, art instructor, and television host

Cathy Hainer (October 28, 1993) "PBS' stroke of serenity / Bob Ross brings brush of zen to 'Joy of Painting'", USA Today, p. 3D.

“In Painting, Yhou Have Unlimited Power. You Have The Ability To Move Mountains. You Can Bend Rivers. But When I Get Home, The Only Thing I Have Power Over Is The Garbage.”

Bob Ross (1942–1995) American painter, art instructor, and television host

Source: From "The Joy of Painting" Mobquotes https://mobquotes.com/bob-ross-quotes/

“Our educational system is filled with the art of memorisation, how much you can recall in the exams hall, and nothing to do with the testing of our intelligence.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“It is not often that nations learn from the past, even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it.”

Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) United States Secretary of State

“The noblest art is that of making others happy”

P.T. Barnum (1810–1891) American showman and businessman

“I knew I was different. I thought that I might be gay or something because I couldn't identify with any of the guys at all. None of them liked art or music, they just wanted to fight and get laid. It was many years ago but it gave me this real hatred for the average American macho male.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

As quoted in Melody Maker (1991-09-14).
Interviews (1989-1994), Print

“All I have produced before the age of seventy is not worth taking into account. At seventy-three I have learned a little about the real structure of nature, of animals, plants, trees, birds, fishes and insects. In consequence when I am eighty, I shall have made still more progress. At ninety I shall penetrate the mystery of things; at one hundred I shall certainly have reached a marvelous stage; and when I am a hundred and ten, everything I do, be it a dot or a line, will be alive. I beg those who live as long as I to see if I do not keep my word. Written at the age of seventy five by me, once Hokusai, today Gwakyo Rojin, the old man mad about drawing.”

Hokusai (1760–1849) Japanese artist

On one of his pseudonom, Gyakyo Rojin. He may have said the above in his late life definitely, since he began to use the name Gwakyo Rojin in 1843.
Attributed

“Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) poet, mountaineer, occultist

Introduction.
Source: Magick Book IV : Liber ABA, Part III : Magick in Theory and Practice (1929)
Context: Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.
(Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge. I therefore take "magical weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I write "incantations" — these sentences — in the "magical language" ie, that which is understood by the people I wish to instruct; I call forth "spirits", such as printers, publishers, booksellers and so forth and constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of Magick by which I cause Changes to take place in conformity with my Will.)
In one sense Magick may be defined as the name given to Science by the vulgar.

“No body wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren, talents equal to those of the other colors of men”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

Letter to Benjamin Banneker (30 August 1791) http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(tj060149)) <br class="br">1790s <br class="br">Context: No body wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren, talents equal to those of the other colors of men, and that the appearance of a want of them is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa & America.

“Music to me is the air I breathe it's the blood that pumps through my veins that keeps me alive”

Green Day

“If the world could outlaw religion for one year you'd be surprised how much better the world would be. (Music Planet 2Nite, 2001)”

Robert Smith (musician) (1959) English singer, songwriter and musician

“The aim of science was not meant to turn against every religious belief, but to illuminate the minds of the people.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“If, in each hour, a man could learn a single fragment of some branch of knowledge, a single rule of some mechanical art, a single pleasing story or proverb (the acquisition of which would require no effort), what a vast stock of learning he might lay by. Seneca is therefore right when he says: "Life is long, if we know how to use it." It is consequently of importance that we understand the art of making the very best use of our lives.”

John Amos Comenius (1592–1670) Czech teacher, educator, philosopher and writer