I think art is a healing force, and if we give in to the joy that can be found in art, then we are able to sustain ourselves in spite of ourselves.
Interpretation
Art serves as a source of healing and joy, helping us to endure challenges in life.
In this quote, Ntozake Shange expresses the idea that art has the power to heal and uplift individuals, allowing them to find joy even amidst difficulties. By embracing the joy that art can provide, we can better navigate the struggles we face and maintain our well-being despite personal challenges.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of art therapy, one might use this quote to emphasize how art can provide healing.
Where there is a woman there is magic. If there is a moon falling from her mouth, she is a woman who knows her magic, who can share or not share her powers. A woman with a moon falling from her mouth, roses between her legs and tiaras of Spanish moss, this woman is a consort of the spirits.
I write for young girls of color, for girls who don’t even exist yet, so that there is something there for them when they arrive. I can only change how they live, not how they think.
i usedta live in the world really be in the world free & sweet talkin good mornin & thank-you & nice day uh huh i cant now i cant be nice to nobody nice is such a rip-off regular beauty & a smile in the street is just a set-up
one thing I don’t need is any more apologies i got sorry greetin me at my front door you can keep yrs i don’t know what to do wit em they don’t open doors or bring the sun back they don’t make me happy or get a mornin paper didn’t nobody stop usin my tears to wash cars cuz a sorry.
The slaves who were ourselves had known terror intimately, confused sunrise with pain, & accepted indifference as kindness.
It still amazes and fascinates me that women of color have kept my work alive for these many generations.
There must be so many people who have various artistic talents that, for whatever reason, just have no way of expressing them. Either they have no support from their family or they live in a part of the world, maybe they've never heard a piano or seen a piano.
Because for whatever reason, even though I want to stay home all the time and be left alone, I want to tell the world who I am now.
Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.
That's the kind of movie that I like to make, where there is an invented reality and the audience is going to go someplace where hopefully they've never been before. The details, that's what the world is made of.
As creators, our pursuit of perfection might be misguided, particularly if it comes at the expense of the things that matter.
I'm sad to see celluloid go, there's no doubt. But, you know, nitrate went, by the way, in 1971. If you ever saw a nitrate print of a silent film and then saw an acetate print, you'd see a big difference, but nobody remembers anymore. The acetate print is what we have. Maybe. Now it's digital.
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