I can never fathom it when people say things like "I can't understand abstract art!" Or: "Abstract art is junk!" Or: "Abstract art isn't as valid as realism!"
The entire 'my art is better than your art' thing really gets under my skin. The fact of the matter is: Your art IS better than my art... at being what it is. So what? It just so happens that my art is better than your art, at being what it is.
Life is replete with comedy, drama, horror, suspense, tragedy, romance, mystery, fantasy and a good dose of fiction. While at times the plot may seem to be lacking, the special effects alone are well worth the price of admission.
Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.
An all encompassing uncertainty on the part of any person is either a sign of utter stupidity or extreme intelligence. Only the not so dumb, or the not so smart, are ever certain about anything.
No matter how substandard you feel your skill or talent may be, If you never produce your art, the world will always remain deprived of it.
More often than not, in order to find truth, a wise man must suffer the ravings of the insane. There is no undiscovered truth to be found in the minds of the reasonable and rational.
Abstraction is an exercise in a pre-assured failure. It is a futile attempt to communicate the non-communicable
The nobility which exists within any cause is to be found not in any achievement, but instead within the struggle.
It is not about which artist is more skilled than which other artist. It is about creating what is in you to create. A lack of confidence in oneself is like a thief, It steals from the world that which might be worthy.
There has got to be a point that exists somewhere, when a rational person just has to shake his head and say: 'You know what? Maybe all the crack-pots are right!'
I would warn against too much of a radical devotion to rationality. Rationality is an illusion, an invented concept, a construct from the mind of man. It is not a property of the universe. Rationality may be a useful tool when it suits our purposes, however, it is merely a measuring stick, calibrated against what we know of the nature of the universe - all of which may or may not be completely inaccurate.
Without compassion, true gratitude is an impossibility. If we are to feel gratitude towards another for their deeds, then we must have compassion for the suffering and self-sacrifice which they endured in carrying out those deeds. If their actions were free of suffering or sacrifice, then are they truly deserving of gratitude?
No matter how much utter disdain I have for the work of a particular artist, I would still rather that he had created those works than hadn't
It would seem to me that If this physical life, of which we are now aware, does indeed comprise the entirety of human experience, then what we seem to intuitively know to be true is entirely backwards. For if this is the case, then it must be the despicable tyrant, free of any moral values, and not the selfless compassionate who sacrifices himself for the good of mankind that is truly the one most deserving of our reverence and emulation.
In a world where God does not exist, any reasonable person must see that the propensity toward selfishness should be the most venerated of all human traits. From this it stands to reason that any man, knowing the total expanse of his existence to be finite, who does not devote every moment of his life to acts of pure selfishness, must be seen as nothing more than a fool.
When the established members of academia start becoming vocal as to how poor your art is, then you know you're on to something.
One of the biggest differences between liberalism and conservativism these days, is that conservativism isn't what conservativism should be, and liberalism is what liberalism ought not to be.
The ability of a country to wage war is not an accurate measure of its strengths, but of its fears.
One of the most distinguishing differences between liberals and conservatives in America is that the average Liberal feels that we should have little reservation about killing the unborn, while the average Conservative feels it is better to wait until after they are born before we kill them.
There is one great truth in western politics that I have been able to see, and that is this: The more left wing your political ideals are, the more naive a person you are likely to be. The more right wing your political ideals are, the more evil a person you are likely to be. Choosing a political standpoint is largely a matter of deciding which failure as a human you are more comfortable with.
Gratitude free of compassion is selfishness. It is nothing more than being happy for what has been done to benefit you.
Too many people today believe that you can fight fascism with fascism. This of course is an impossibility. Fascism times any other number always equals fascism.
