Quotes about artist
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Herbert Read photo

“The revolutionary artist is born into a world of clichés, of stale images and signs which no longer pierce the consciousness to express reality. He therefore invents new symbols, perhaps a whole new symbolic system.”

Herbert Read (1893–1968) English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art

The Philosophy of Modern Art: Collected Essays (1971).
Other Quotes

DJ Paul photo

“And Margaret, uh, has done a lot of experimenting in her work. I think, probably, no artist has experimented the way Margaret has.”

Margaret Keane (1927) American artist

This statement was made before the public learned that Margaret, and not Walter, was the painter of the Big Eyed waifs.
Interviewed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WgStC6fvtM by Gary E. Park (circa 1964).
Walter Keane

Piero Manzoni photo
S. H. Raza photo
Anish Kapoor photo

“The artist is a magician… nothing short of extraordinary … this is a staggering exhibition by a major artist.”

Anish Kapoor (1954) British contemporary artist of Indian birth

Concrete playground on Kapoor’s first major exhibition in Australia.
Exhibition: Anish Kapoor

Birju Maharaj photo
Amrita Sher-Gil photo

“At stake was not only a serious and viable artistic career as a woman, but the development of a subjectivity that was being defined through the self-portrait. conscious of being both muse and maker, Sher-Gil took on the position of artist and object with a double consciousness of being both.”

Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941) Hungarian Indian artist

Above two quotes by art historian Rakhee Balaram in the self in making AMRITA SHER-GIL, 7 December 2013, Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts. http://knma.in/exhibition/self-making-amrita-sher-gil-0.,

Bhimsen Joshi photo
Rajinikanth photo

“Rajnikanth’s dedication, compassion for the welfare of co-artistes and passion for cinema have been key factors for his success as a mass-entertainer.”

Rajinikanth (1950) Indian actor

Sankar Narayan alias ‘Cable’ Sankar, an Assistant Director and a writer on film industry trends
Decoding Rajinikanth

John Marshall Harlan II photo
Sadik Kaceli photo

“English: For his high level of work, a contribute for the Albanian art and for preparing the new generation of artists.”

Sadik Kaceli (1914–2000) Albanian artist

Për nivel të lartë në krijimtari, një kontribut në shquar në artet figurative Shqiptare dhe një ndihmë të pakursyer në përgatitjen e brezave të artistëve të rinj.
Sali Berisha, President of Albania (22-03-1994)

Sadik Kaceli photo

“Similar people, artists like Kaceli, ennoble the human race, overall, and our Albanian race, in particular.”

Sadik Kaceli (1914–2000) Albanian artist

Source: Eli Xoxa, Monografi: Kaceli

Adam Goldstein photo

“I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of DJ AM. He was our resident DJ at Rain Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort. We considered him a friend and a great artist. He will truly be missed.”

Adam Goldstein (1973–2009) American DJ

George Maloof, entrepreneur and casino owner DJ AM DEATH LEAVES CLUB BOSS DEVASTATED http://www.younghollywood.com/news/2009/08/30/dj-am-death-leaves-club-boss-devastated.html

Paul Scofield photo

“Beneath the gentle modesty of his behavior lay the absolute assurance of a born artist.”

Paul Scofield (1922–2008) English actor

Peter Brook, Threads of Time: Recollections (Basic Books, 1998, ISBN 1582430187), p. 29

Harvey Fierstein photo
Gottfried Helnwein photo

“Helnwein is a very fine artist and one sick motherfucker.”

Gottfried Helnwein (1948) Austrian photographer and painter

Robert Crumb, letter to his San Francisco art-dealer Martin Muller, 1992

Gottfried Helnwein photo

“It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition: to show the viewer what he knows but does not know that he knows. Helnwein is a master of surprised recognition.”

Gottfried Helnwein (1948) Austrian photographer and painter

William S. Burroughs, Helnwein's Work http://www.helnwein.com/texte/selected_authors/artikel_103.html, Lawrence, Kansas, 1990

Gottfried Helnwein photo
Thomas Eakins photo
Arshile Gorky photo

“It would be a sad thing for an artist if he knew how to paint.”

Arshile Gorky (1904–1948) Armenian-American painter

so sad. An artist paints because it is a challenge to him – it is like trying to twist the devil. If you overcome it, there is no sport left. I don't even like to talk about painting. It is impossible to talk about painting because I don't know what it is. If I knew what it was I would get out a patent and then no one else would be able to paint.
1942 - 1948, A Painter in a Glass House' (1948)

Marcel Duchamp photo
Marcel Duchamp photo
Gerald Durrell photo

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present the famous escape artists, Krafty Kralefsky and his partner, Slithery Stephanides.”

"Dear God," said Larry, "who thought of those names?" "Theodore" "They wanted to call it something much more....complex, but Margo couldn't be trusted to pronounce them properly" "One must be thankful for small mercies"
The Garden of the Gods (1978)

Greta Garbo photo
Sinclair Lewis photo
Thom Yorke photo

“Jonny goes on and on about this. Anybody who claims they write for *themselves is a liar. Everyone has an audience in mind. The only reason any artist would carry on is in the faith that one day somebody would see or hear their work.”

Thom Yorke (1968) English musician, philanthropist and singer-songwriter

source http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=1997&cutting=46

Norman K. Denzin photo

“A fundamental problem in such studies stems from the long tradition that has regarded artistic productions as social facts.”

Norman K. Denzin (1941) American sociologist

By regarding such productions as social facts the analyst is relieved of the burden of demonstrating what meanings these productions have for the artist and his audience. It is too frequently assumed that such meanings can be identified by a capable analyst, independent of the interpretations brought to such works by the artist or his audiences. In my judgement artist productions must be seen as interactional creations; the meanings of which arise out of the interactions directed to them by the artist and his audience.
[The Sociology of Rock, 1978, Frith, Simon (ed.), ISBN 0094602204]

Vincent Van Gogh photo

“To stroll on wharves, and in alleys and in streets and in the houses, waiting-rooms, even saloons, that is not a pleasant pastime unless for an artist.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

As such, one would rather be in the dirtiest place where there is something to draw, than at a tea party with charming ladies. Unless one wants to draw ladies, then a tea party is all right even for an artist.
quote in his letter to brother Theo, from The Hague, The Netherlands in Spring 1882; as quoted in Vincent van Gogh, edited by Alfred H. Barr; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935 https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1996_300061887.pdf, p. 34 (letter 190)
1880s, 1882

Jane Austen photo
Jane Austen photo
John Stuart Mill photo
Arthur C. Clarke photo

“You won’t be an artist if you live a thousand years. You’re merely an expert, and you know it. Those who can—do, those who can’t—criticise.”

The Road to the Sea, p. 294
2000s and posthumous publications, The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001)

Teal Swan photo
Teal Swan photo
Marilyn Monroe photo
Salvador Dalí photo
John Stuart Mill photo
Margaret Cho photo

“I was working on this movie and the makeup artist was just so ugly! I just wanted to say "Physician, heal thyself!"”

Margaret Cho (1968) American stand-up comedian

She looked exactly like Aaron Neville, and she was trying her hardest to make me look exactly like Aaron Neville. This one time, she leaned into my face with the mascara wand almost touching my eye and she says, "Whass my name?"
From Her Tours and CDs, Drunk With Power CD

Tracey Thorn photo
E.E. Cummings photo

“An artist doesn't live in some geographical abstraction, superimposed on a part of this beautiful earth by the nonimagination of unanimals and dedicated to the proposition that massacre is a social virtue because murder is an individual vice. Nor does an artist live in some soi-disant world, nor does he live in some so-called universe, nor does he live in any number of "worlds" or in any number of "universes."”

E.E. Cummings (1894–1962) American poet

As for a few trifling delusions like the "past" and "present" and "future" of quote mankind unquote,they may be big enough for a couple of billion supermechanized submorons but they're much too small for one human being.
Re Ezra Pound (p. 69)
i : six nonlectures (1953)

John F. Kennedy photo
David Sedaris photo

“Later I went to the design school and saw Kumar and Melamid, the Soviet dissident artists, who are funny. I sold them my soul for $1.”

David Sedaris (1956) American author

26.02.1981 - p.52
Theft by Finding: Diaries, Volume 1 (1977-2002) (2017)

“The problem is, some of us have either convinced ourselves that we are not creative, or are yet to find our way. Confidence in our own creativity can wane. Which is bad. Confidence is crucial. In my experience artists, like a lot of us, fear being “found out.””

Will Gompertz (1965) British journalist

But somehow they manage to summon up enough self-belief to overcome the self-doubt, which enables them to back their creativity. The Beatles were just a bunch of young lads with time on their hands who found the confidence to persuade themselves and then the world that they were musicians.
Think Like an Artist (2015)

China Miéville photo
Aparna Sen photo

“I think that the best of artists are androgynous in a sense. If a man is a very macho male, I don't know whether he'll make a very good director, he may make a very good craftsman. Or if a woman is a very sort of typically feminine woman, I don't think she will make a very good film. She has to have a bit of both.”

Aparna Sen (1945) Indian filmmaker, script writer and actress

Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal - Aparna Sen & Konkana Sen - 24 Mar 2014 (First Broadcast 2003), at 7 Min 51 Sec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkkOKmyld5k

E.M. Forster photo
Marianne Williamson photo

“I do like social medias because of the instant feedback and interaction. I try to keep fans up to date with what I’m doing and try to show them who I am and what I’m passionate about. I also follow a lot of artists myself because I like learning more about the people I respect.”

MacKenzie Porter (1990) Canadian actress, singer and musician

Boots & Hearts 2013 Exclusive Q&A: Mackenzie Porter https://www.thereviewsarein.com/2013/08/04/boots-hearts-2013-exclusive-qa-mackenzie-porter/ (August 4, 2013)

Giovanni Morassutti photo

“Wine making is an artistic creation in which you deal with a variety of styles, colors, and inspiration therefore good wine, like good art, can evoke emotions, sensations and create an experience which leaves a lasting impression.”

Giovanni Morassutti (1980) Italian actor, theatre director and cultural entrepreneur.

Stated in the description of Video artwork Ribolla https://artelaguna.world/videoart/ribolla.30318/ , Arte Laguna World https://artelaguna.world/. Also quoted on visual art work Sauvignon https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-morassutti/sauvignon, Series Wine & Art https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-morassutti/all-works#!#filterName:Series_wine-art,resultType:masonry, Wikiart.org (28 April, 2020) https://www.wikiart.org/

Jan Mankes photo

“..Painting never means just never picturing the material things, but it is a psychological function, an expression of how his mind [of the artist] responds to things. So that is quite a difference with: painting is showing the beauty of things.”

Jan Mankes (1889–1920) Dutch painter

translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek

(original Dutch: citaat van Jan Mankes, in het Nederlands:) Schilderen is.. ..nooit een afbeelding geven der stoffelijke zaken, maar een psychische functie, een uiten hoe zijn geest [van de kunstenaar] reageert ten opzichte der dingen. Dat is dus een heel verschil met: schilderen is de schoonheid der dingen laten zien.

Quote of Jan Mankes in a letter to his maceneas A.A.M. Pauwels in The Hague; as cited by J.R. de Groot in 'De bekoring van het gewone - Het werk van Jan Mankes https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_ons003199001_01/_ons003199001_01_0014.php', p. 102
undated quotes

Ursula K. Le Guin photo
David Cronenberg photo

“Everybody has antennae. Some people mute them. If you're an artist, you enhance them.”

David Cronenberg (1943) Canadian film director, screenwriter and actor

on being an artist

Karl Pearson photo

“Does not the beauty of the artist's work lie for us in the accuracy with which his symbols resume innumerable facts of our past emotional experience? ... [A]esthetic judgment... how exactly parallel it is to the scientific judgment.”

Introductory. Pearson refers the reader to William Wordsworth's preface to the Lyrical Ballads (1815) "General View of Poetry".
The Grammar of Science (1900)

Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Alex Grey photo
Adolf Hitler photo

“[A]ll that which America did not get from Europe may seem worthy of admiration to a Jewified mixed race, but Europe regards that merely as symptomatic of decay in artistic and cultural life, the product of Jewish or Negroid blood mixture.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

1940s, Speech Declaring War Against the United States (1941)

Tom Stoppard photo
Don Bluth photo
Gary Goldman photo
Mónica Esmeralda León photo

“I wanted to start an artistic revolution to empower our neighborhood and people.”

Mónica Esmeralda León (1991) actress

ABC Eyewitness News Chicago 2016: Award-winning Latino filmmakers thrive in Aurora https://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/award-winning-latino-filmmakers-thrive-in-aurora/1464700/

Harry Gordon Selfridge photo

“[T]he artist sells the work of his brush and in this he is a merchant. The writer sells to any who will buy, let his ideas be what they will. The teacher sells his knowledge of books—often in too low a market—to those who would have this knowledge passed on to the young.
The doctor... too is a merchant. His stock-in-trade is his intimate knowledge of the physical man and his skill to prevent or remove disabilities. ...The lawyer sometimes knows the laws of the land and sometimes does not, but he sells his legal language, often accompanied by common sense, to the multitude who have not yet learned that a contentious nature may squander quite as successfully as the spendthrift. The statesman sells his knowledge of men and affairs, and the spoken or written exposition of his principles of Government; and he receives in return the satisfaction of doing what he can for his nation, and occasionally wins as well a niche in its temple of fame.
The man possessing many lands, he especially would be a merchant... and sell, but his is a merchandise which too often nowadays waits in vain for the buyer. The preacher, the lecturer, the actor, the estate agent, the farmer, the employé, all, all are merchants, all have something to dispose of at a profit to themselves, and the dignity of the business is decided by the manner in which they conduct the sale.”

Harry Gordon Selfridge (1858–1947) America born English businessman

The Romance of Commerce (1918), Concerning Commerce

Kadda Sheekoff photo

“Some Haitian artist have so little going on in their lives, they would rather discuss yours.”

Kadda Sheekoff (1993) Haitian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur

This quotation is commonly attributed to Kadda Sheekoff, but actually appeared on social networking websites, with no clear author.
Misattributed

Rebecca West photo
Prevale photo

“The real DJ is an artist and as such creates art. Something unique, which can not be recreated.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Il vero DJ è un artista e come tale crea arte. Qualcosa di unico, che non si può ricreare.
Source: prevale.net

Leo Tolstoy photo
George Henry Lewes photo
Tracy Chapman photo

“I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in…That's what everyone should do with their lives…stand up for what they believe in, or try to do some good in the world. I don't think artists have a greater responsibility than anyone else.”

Tracy Chapman (1964) American singer-songwriter

On how artist expression can be a form of political activism in “A militant mellows” https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/28/artsfeatures.popandrock in The Guardian (27 Sep 2002)

Ron English photo

“The only good artist is a dead artist.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Death and the Eternal Forever (2014)

Guy Fletcher photo

“Never assume you know it all. There is always more to discover especially when working with other artists and musicians.”

Guy Fletcher (1960) English multi-instrumentalist; keyboardist in Dire Straits

In conversation with Guy Fletcher https://www.orbitsound.com/en-gb/articles/in-conversation-with...-guy-fletcher/ (07/10/2016)

Auguste Rodin photo
Auguste Rodin photo

“The artist must learn the difference between the appearance of an object and the interpretation of this object through his medium. The artist must create a spark before he can make a fire and before art is born, the artist must be ready to be consumed by the fire of his own creation.”

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) French sculptor

Attributed to Rodin in: Southwestern Art Vol. 6 (1977). p. 20; Partly cited in: A Toolbox for Humanity: More Than 9000 Years of Thought (2004) by Lloyd Albert Johnson, p. 7
1930s and later

Chulpan Khamatova photo
Sepandar Kamvar photo

“The artist builds a framework, and the community fills it in.”

Sepandar Kamvar (1977) Iranian computer scientist

Syntax & Sage: Reflections on Software and Nature https://books.google.com/books/about/Syntax_Sage.html?id=Pe-ajgEACAAJ (2015)

Isaac Asimov photo
John Steinbeck photo

“An artist should be open on all sides to every kind of light and darkness.”

Appendix, letter to Elizabeth Otis and Chase Horton (20 April 1959)
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights (1976)

Alessia Cara photo

“I want to be remembered as a person who, or as an artist who provided comfort for people.”

Alessia Cara (1996) Canadian singer

Interview with Universal Music Korea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI68Ue0sPfo (October 2018)

Dmae Roberts photo

“In any professional setting, I’m a fish out of water on many levels, not just racially and culturally but also in the work I do, which involves many artistic disciplines…”

Dmae Roberts American actress and writer

On doing things that scare her in “Who is Dmae Roberts?” https://artslandia.com/who-is-dmae-roberts/ in artslandia

“Renaissance art has always been my favourite subject. The realism involved in it is a challenge for me not only as an artist but also as a priest. Subjects involving human beings have always been my core area of interest.”

Nude figures, Mizo bishop's tribute to God https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Nude-figures-Mizo-bishops-tribute-to-God/articleshow/4834560.cms?referral=PM (July 29, 2009)

Sébastien Lefebvre photo

“It all starts with a good song. You can look cool and work hard, but that won’t be enough. People will get into your coolness once they like the song. That’s when people want to find out more about an artist.”

Sébastien Lefebvre (1981) French Canadian musician

Interview with Simple Plan’s Sebastien Lefebvre https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/interview-with-simple-plans-sebastien-lefebvre

Robert Louis Stevenson photo

“In many ways an artistic nature unfits a man for practical existence.”

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer

A Lodging for the Night.
The New Arabian Nights (1882)

Reza Goodary photo

“The real martial artist must first be a role model in ethics.”

Reza Goodary (1988) Mixed martial artist

Source: The championship period is short. What we show in the heroic era comes back to us in the veteran era. The real martial artist must first be a role model in ethics. https://parsine.com/0033gy Parsine News, (September 9, 2021)

William Gibson photo

“Life is more difficult for the serious artist. Time is money, but also money is money.”

Source: Blue Ant trilogy, Pattern Recognition (2003), Chapter 26, "SIGINT"

Mirza Tahir Ahmad photo

“If you love the art, you must love the artist. If you love the Creation, you must love the Creator.”

Mirza Tahir Ahmad (1928–2003) caliph of the Ahmadiyya

citation needed