“Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.”
Oscar Wilde book The Decay of Lying
The Decay of Lying (1889)
On art versus life in “Berkeley world premiere for Naomi Iizuka play” https://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Berkeley-world-premiere-for-Naomi-Iizuka-play-3271229.php in SF Gate (2010 Mar 4)
“Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.”
Oscar Wilde book The Decay of Lying
The Decay of Lying (1889)
Gerhard Richter (1932) German visual artist, born 1932
undated quotes, The Daily Practice of Painting, Writings (1962-1993)
Kurt Vonnegut book A Man Without a Country
A Man Without a Country (2005)
Context: If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.
“All right. I’m not opposed to reality imitating art if it doesn’t get in the way.”
Samuel R. Delany (1942) American author, professor and literary critic
Source: Lines of Power (1968), p. 26
“If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?”
George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian
“Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.”
Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician
“I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.”
Carrie Fisher book Postcards from the Edge
Postcards from the Edge (1987)
“There is no nature which is inferior to art, the arts imitate the nature of things.”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
XI, 10
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book XI