Is It Art?

Art washes away the dust of everyday life. - Pablo Picasso


If you're still dusty, it ain't art.

Opposites Defined

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. - Elie Wiesel 

  He might be right but I really don't care.

Rap Music

Rap music... sounds like somebody feeding a rhyming dictionary to a popcorn popper. - Tom Robbins

  Yup.

Creativity

Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, "I've never seen anyone run like that before." It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative. - Steve Prefontaine


Creativity is not limited to the traditional arts.

Experience Value

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. - Auguste Rodin 


Its kind of like taking aspirin for a headache. You never know how bad it would have been without it.




p.s. If you are unfamiliar with Rodin then follow the link above. He is well worth learning about. The book "Naked Came I" is a good read; a biographical novel of his life.

Inward Significance

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. - Aristotle


Remember, life is an art.

Life is Art

Life is not an exact science, it is an art. - Samuel Butler


Though one may be born with talent, you must practice before you become an artist.

Art Business; Business Art

If there's a more tragic fool than the businessman that does not realize he's an extension of man's highest creative spirit—it's the artist who thinks that the businessman is his enemy. - Ayn Rand


These days there is very little distinction between the businessman and the artist.

Creative Art

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams


Science is learning from your mistakes.

People Create

Why do writers write? Because it isn't there. - Thomas Berger


Why do designers design?
Why do artists do art?
Why do entrepreneurs start businesses?
etc.


Why do people create? Because it gives life.


(Other posts on Life)

Living in Generalities

We think in generalities, but we live in detail. - Alfred North Whitehead


Most of us live in detail - those that live in generalities are regarded as the artsy type.


(Other posts on Art)

Ideally Beautiful

The ideal and the beautiful are identical; the ideal corresponds to the idea, and beauty to form; hence idea and substance are cognate. - Victor Hugo 


So it is with art.


(Other posts on Art) 

Living with Idealism

The human soul has still greater need of the ideal than of the real. It is by the real that we exist; it is by the ideal that we live. - Victor Hugo 

Art which is a image of just the way things are does not help you live. Look for art that shows you how things could be.

(Other quotes on Art) 

True/Untrue

We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be. - William James 


This is what is so wonderful about story telling (fiction, plays, movies, etc); the juxtaposition of right and wrong.


(Other posts on Truth) 

What Good is a Pot?

We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds what we want. – Lao Tzu 


Sorry to take exception this time Lao, but a plain pot has less value than a well decorated pot to most folks. So what we want is not just a pot to hold something but to adorn our lives with as well.


(Other posts on Art) 

No Statues

Pay no attention to what the critics say... Remember, a statue has never been set up in honor of a critic! - Jean Sibelius 


Why has putting up statues of great people gone out of style?


(Other posts on Art) 

Lost Poets

I think that one possible definition of our modern culture is that it is one in which nine-tenths of our intellectuals can't read any poetry. - Randall Jarrell 


Though we have gained much from our fast-paced world, we have sadly lost some things as well.


(Other posts on Art) 

Mystery Revealed

The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs. - Charles Baudelaire   


Interesting concept: One human activity revealing the mystery in another human activity.


(Other posts on Art) 

Shallow Vision

A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into. - Ansel Adams

Not just photographs; most everything is given a cursory glance.

(More posts on Art) 

Ballet

Strong passions or negative emotions cannot be projected in ballet, regardless of its librettos; it cannot express tragedy or fear—or sexuality; it is a perfect medium for the expression of spiritual love. - Ayn Rand

Now I understand why ballet has remained a positive expression and reflection of humanity.


(Other posts on Art)