“It is precisely those artists and writers who are most inclined to think of their art as the manifestation of their personality who are in fact the most in bondage to public taste.”

—  Simone Weil

Source: Simone Weil : An Anthology (1986), Human Personality (1943), p. 57

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is precisely those artists and writers who are most inclined to think of their art as the manifestation of their per…" by Simone Weil?
Simone Weil photo
Simone Weil 193
French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist 1909–1943

Related quotes

John Lancaster Spalding photo

“The writers who accomplish most are those who compel thought on the highest and most profoundly interesting subjects.”

John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop

Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 24

Norman Mailer photo

“I am convinced the most unfortunate people are those who would make an art of love. It sours other effort. Of all artists, they are certainly the most wretched.”

Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film maker, actor and political candidate

Source: The Man Who Studied Yoga (1956), Ch. 5

“… "folk art" signifies the poetical, musical, and pictorial activities of those strata of the population which are uneducated and not urbanized or industrialized. It is of the essence of this art that those who keep it in being are not only passively receptive, but normally are creative participants in the artistic activities, and yet do not stand out as individuals or claim any personal authorship of the productions. "Popular art" on the other hand is to be understood as artistic or quasi-artistic production for the demand of a half-educated public, generally urban and inclined to mass-behavior. In folk art, producers and consumers are hardly distinguished, and the boundary between them is always fluid; in the case of popular art, we find on the contrary an artistically uncreative, completely passive public, and professional production of artistic goods strictly in response to the demand for them. It is indeed a striking fact that folk art, especially folk-poetry, emerges from the ranks of those who enjoy it, whereas popular songs—the street-ballads and popular "hits"—derive from professionals belonging to and spiritually dependent upon the upper classes.”

Arnold Hauser (1892–1978) Hungarian art historian

Arnold Hauser (1985). The philosophy of art history. p. 279

“… In a way, the author is a writer's public persona. The writer, however, is a private person. Anyone who expresses life's experiences--their own or someone else's--in writing is a creative writer, and for him or her, the most important concern, the passion, is the writing itself…”

Lucha Corpi (1945)

On how she defines “author” in “Interview with Mystery Author Lucha Corpi” http://latinola.com/story.php?story=8074 in ¡Latino LA! (2009 Dec 4)

John Kenneth Galbraith photo

“But it can be laid down as a rule that those who speak most of liberty are least inclined to use it.”

John Kenneth Galbraith book The New Industrial State

Source: The New Industrial State (1967), Chapter XXXV, Section 5, p. 398

Stephen King photo

“I think the author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.”

Stephen King (1947) American author

As quoted in an edition of I Am Legend (1995)
Context: I think the author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson. Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me.

Nathaniel Hawthorne photo

“The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne book The Scarlet Letter

Introduction: The Custom-House
The Scarlet Letter (1850)
Context: The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life. Nevertheless, like the greater part of our misfortunes, even so serious a contingency brings its remedy and consolation with it, if the sufferer will but make the best, rather than the worst, of the accident which has befallen him.

C.G. Jung photo

“Primitive superstition lies just below the surface of even the most tough-minded individuals, and it is precisely those who most fight against it who are the first to succumb to its suggestive effects.”

C.G. Jung book Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle

Source: Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle (1960), p. 25

Isa Genzken photo

“Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art should be strong and nonconformist—and most importantly, art should always be personal.”

Isa Genzken (1948) German sculptor

after 2010, Isa Genzken, the artist who doesn't do interviews' (2014)

“You have to recognize those writers who are artists in the same sense as the musicians.”

Clare Fischer (1928–2012) American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader

As quoted in "Meet Clare Fischer" http://cdassassin.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/1999-interview-at-allaboutjazz-com/

Related topics