Thoughts II

Thoughts on art (and not) only continue…

• Some of the grandest and most overwhelming creations of art are still unsolved riddles to our understanding… Where they are concerned communicating and comprehending artist’s intention would never be possible without psychoanalysis… Z. Freud
• Nothing can be compared to the perfect silence and darkness that reigns in caves. The human body begins behaving differently under those conditions. The light that is lacking in the cave begins to burn beneath your ribs. You begin to radiate light from inside; there appears within you a brightness that illuminates your inner space. (…) Given the lack of any external light, in caves you have the chance to see who you really are. While I was a cave explorer I formulated my fundamental question about the meaning of life beyond caves; now, through my creative work, I seek an answer to that question… J. J. Kolski (Polish director)
  
  • Desiderata

  
  Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
  and remember what peace there may be in silence.
  As far as possible without surrender
  be on good terms with all persons.
  Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
  and listen to others,
  even the dull and the ignorant;
  they too have their story.
  Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
  they are vexations to the spirit.
  If you compare yourself with others,
  you may become vain and bitter;
  for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
  Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
  

  Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
  it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
  Exercise caution in your business affairs;
  for the world is full of trickery.
  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
  many persons strive for high ideals;
  and everywhere life is full of heroism.
  

  Be yourself.
  Especially, do not feign affection.
  Neither be cynical about love;
  for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
  it is as perennial as the grass.
  

  Take kindly the counsel of the years,
  gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
  Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
  But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
  Beyond a wholesome discipline,
  be gentle with yourself.
  

  You are a child of the universe,
  no less than the trees and the stars;
  you have a right to be here.
  And whether or not it is clear to you,
  no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
  

  Therefore be at peace with God,
  whatever you conceive Him to be,
  and whatever your labors and aspirations,
  in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
  

  With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
  it is still a beautiful world.
  Be cheerful.
  Strive to be happy.

Author disputable (Max Ehrmann, or unknown)

• The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you’re an artist. Max Jacob
• It may be that the deep necessity of art is the examination of self-deception. Robert Motherwell
• It can’t look like you’ve worked hard and long, even if you have. A painting should be done quickly with both your intellect and your nerves. When they give out, stop. Ch. Movalli
• If deceiving the eye were the only business of the art… the minute painter would be more apt to succeed. But it is not the eye, it is the mind which the painter of genius desires to address. Sir. Joshua Reynolds
• He who knows a thousand works of art knows a thousand frauds. Horace
• A good artist can make you forget the medium, like a magician not showing the wires. Robert Levers
• Learn how to draw empty space. R. Levers
• Art-speech is the only truth. An artist is usually a damned liar, but his art, if it be art, will tell you the truth of his day. And that is what matters. D. H. Lawrence
• Truth and reality in art begin at the point where the artist ceases to understand what he is doing and capable of doing – yet feels in himself a force that becomes steadily stronger… and more concentrated. H. Matisse
• The effort to see things without distortion takes something like courage and this courage is essential to the artist, who has to look at everything as though he saw it for the first time. H. Matisse
• An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by self-discovery and by observation of his own procedure. After that he must not feel under any constraint. H. Matisse
• You are the creator; give your art the freedom to choose its path. Pay attention, you will see this path. Pay attention, your art will speak to you. Pay attention, and your art will speak to others. A. Wayne Hooker
• An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, a prisoner of manner, a prisoner of reputation, or a prisoner of success. H. Matisse
• The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others. Vincent van Gogh
• One should not be too difficult. An artist should not treat himself like an enemy. Eugene Delacroix
• What makes you think painting is any less difficult than brain surgery? Christopher Willard
• Painting is an investigation of being. Squeak Carnwath
• The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting. Vincent van Gogh
• Paint the necessary; ignore the obvious. Bill Hosner
• The cult of space can be as dull as that of the object. The dimension that counts for the creative person is the space he creates within himself. This inner space is closer to the infinite than the other, and it is the privilege of a balanced mind - and the search for an equilibrium is essential - to be as aware of inner space as he is of outer space. If he ventures in one, and neglects the other, man falls off his horse and the equilibrium is broken. Mark Tobey
• Of course we talk about international styles today, but I think later on we’ll talk about universal styles… the future of the world must be this realization of its oneness, and from that oneness will naturally develop a new spirit in art, because that’s what it is. It’s a spirit and it’s not new words and it’s not new ideas only. It’s a different spirit. And that spirit of oneness will be reflected through painting. Mark Tobey
• The development of my work has been I feel more subconscious than conscious. I do not work by intellectual deductions. My work is a kind of self-contained contemplation. Mark Tobey
• “Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.” Nietzsche
• He who would a creator… Must be a destroyer first and shatter the values. Nietzsche
• Morality is the herd instinct in an individual. Nietzsche
• What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger. Nietzsche