Artist quotes
8.6K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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"The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth."
"The life of an artist is a continuous journey, the path long and never ending."
"If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master."
"I think the key is basically just your determination. As far an artist is concerned, it's just about your drive and your dream."
"The hours of folly are measured by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock can measure."
"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul."
"If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you've done and whoever you were and throw them away."
"Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral."
"If an artist wants to use his mind for creative work, cutting oneself off from society is a necessary thing"
"The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas."
"I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all."
"There comes a time as an artist, can't follow the crowd. You have to do YOU, and make the crowd follow you."
"The artist is always the servant, and is perpetually trying to pay for the gift that has been given to him as if by a miracle. Modern man, however, does not want to make any sacrifice, even though true affirmation of the self can only be expressed in sacrifice."
"The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty."
"The music industry itself is changing so quickly, that everything new, like Spotify, all feels to me a bit like a grand experiment. And I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music. And I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free."
"The moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want, and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist."
"A writer's heart, a poet's heart, an artist's heart, a musician's heart is always breaking. It is through that broken window that we see the world."
"It's just that when you heard hip-hop, no matter where you were, it was a culture that kind of made you want to try to be part of it. Whether you thought you were an artist, whether you thought you could be a DJ, whether you thought you could breakdance, or whether you thought you could rap. It was the kind of culture that had a lot of open doors."
"I think artists should be able to do different things whenever they want and I like the way I am. I'm like - I ain't gonna say the only street rapper, but the only mainstream, new, young street rapper there is right now and I'm doing well with it."
"There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman."
