The body says what words cannot.
Martha GrahamRead
I don't think in art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one and terrifying and threatening and bursting with hope.
Interpretation
Each artistic moment is unique and filled with both challenges and possibilities.
Martha Graham emphasizes the idea that in art, every moment presents a fresh and daunting opportunity. She suggests that instead of relying on past examples or precedents, artists should embrace the uncertainty and excitement of creating something new, which is filled with potential hope and inspiration.
In practice
In an art class, while discussing the value of originality, I shared this quote to encourage students to embrace their own creative journeys.
The body says what words cannot.
Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it.
What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.
Good improvisers seem telepathic; everything looks pre-arranged, This is because they accept all offers made—which is something no ‘normal’ person would do.
My only job is to write in such a way that the reader gets a new handle on humanity.
The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.
From the outside, being an artist seems like a dream life, but there are much darker aspects to it.
I decided very early that I wanted to write. But I didn't think of it as a career. I didn't even think of it as a profession... It was the most exciting thing, the most powerful thing, the most wonderful thing to do with my life.
Whenever you listen to a piece of music, what you are actually doing is hearing the latest sentence in a very long story you’ve been listening to - all the pieces of music you’ve ever heard.
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