The art is long, life is short
Interpretation
Art transcends time, while human life is fleeting.
Hippocrates' quote emphasizes the enduring nature of art compared to the brevity of human life. It suggests that while we may have a limited time on earth, the creations of art can last far beyond our own existence, impacting future generations and reflecting the complexities of life and human experience.
In practice
During a gallery opening, this quote could be used to highlight the importance of appreciating art that connects us across generations.
The body of man has in itself blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile; these make up the nature of this body, and through these he feels pain or enjoys health. Now he enjoys the most perfect health when these elements are duly proportioned to one another in respect of compounding, power and bulk, and when they are perfectly mingled.
That which is used - develops. That which is not used wastes away.
Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.
Wine is an appropriate article for mankind, both for the healthy body and for the ailing man.
Walking is man's best medicine.
A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.
The idea of making audiences feel like they matter, that the theatre matters, and that they're a partner in the eventβthat's what fuels me as a director . . . I believe it's actually radical to think about the audience.
Playwrights have texts, composers have scores, painters and sculptors have the residue of those activities, and dance is traditionally an ephemeral, effervescent, here-today-gone-tomorrow kind of thing.
The original sense of the word 'influence' is 'to flow into.' For the most part, these writers that I admire... their style flows into me without my intervention, which is what explains the broad range of writers who I've been compared with; it reflects my reading.
I found that dance, music, and literature is how I made sense of the world... it pushed me to think of things bigger than life's daily routines... to think beyond what is immediate or convenient.
Who made art history? Not the most reasonable people. The mad men did. If painting is the mirror of a time, it must be mad to have a true image of what that time is. To one madness we oppose another madness.
Good cinema is what we can believe and bad cinema is what we can't believe. What you see and believe in is very much what I'm interested in.
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