“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
Beverly Sills, interviewed on NBC TV, May 4, 1985.
Misattributed
“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
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.
David Lee Roth (1954) Rock vocalist; lead singer with Van Halen
David Barton (July 3, 1994) "Jumping at the Chance - With His Newest Album, David Lee Roth Rocks, Rolls and Moves On", Sacramento Bee, p. EN3.
“A metaphor for seeing God's signature in the world.”
Mike Scott (1958) songwriter, musician
An indication of what he meant by the term "The Big Music" of a Waterboys song, a phrase which came to be applied to the group's early musical style, and that of a few other bands, as quoted in "Pieces of eighties" by John Robinson, in The Guardian (23 April 2004) http://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/apr/24/popandrock1 <br class="br">Variant: <br class="br">A metaphor for seeing God's vision in the world. <br class="br">As quoted in "The Making Of... The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon", in Uncut (June 2013) http://www.uncut.co.uk/the-waterboys/the-making-of-the-waterboys-the-whole-of-the-moon-feature
“It is only through science and art that civilization is of value.”
Henri Poincaré book The Value of Science
Some have wondered at the formula: science for its own sake; an yet it is as good as life for its own sake, if life is only misery; and even as happiness for its own sake, if we do not believe that all pleasures are of the same quality...
Every act should have an aim. We must suffer, we must work, we must pay for our place at the game, but this is for seeing's sake; or at the very least that others may one day see.
Source: The Value of Science (1905), Ch. 11: Science and Reality
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Source: 1930s, Adventures of Ideas (1933), p. 353.
Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) American artist
statement in Hans Hofmann: Recent Paintings (1952) Kootz Gallery
1950s
“There's no such thing as civilization. The word just means the art of living in cities.”
Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) American speculative fiction writer
Source: The Great Book of Amber
“she kissed as if she, alone, could forge the signature of the sun”
Saul Williams (1972) American singer, musician, poet, writer, and actor
Source: , said the shotgun to the head.
Larry Niven (1938) American writer
Source: A Gift From Earth (1968), Chapter 12, "The Slowboat" (p. 210)