I asked her to look at me and after a few moments - (pause) - after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. (Pause. Low) Let me in.
Samuel BeckettRead
Art has nothing to do with clarity, does not dabble in the clear and does not make clear
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art does not prioritize clarity or straightforwardness; instead, it often embraces ambiguity and complexity.
In this quote, Samuel Beckett suggests that true art is not defined by its ability to be easily understood or interpreted. Rather, art thrives in the realms of uncertainty and obscurity, challenging audiences to engage with concepts and emotions that may defy simple explanation and comprehension.
Themes
ArtClarityAmbiguityExpressionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During an art seminar, one might say, 'As Beckett points out, art has nothing to do with clarity, inviting us to explore deeper meanings.'
More from Samuel Beckett
All quotes βNothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.
Samuel BeckettRead
I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.
Samuel BeckettRead
And what I have, what I am, is enough, was always enough for me, and as far as my dear little sweet little future is concerned I have no qualms, I have a good time coming.
Samuel BeckettRead
I love order. It's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.
Samuel BeckettRead
We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.
Samuel BeckettRead
Similar quotes
Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt
Christian BoltanskiRead
Style is wearing an evening dress to McDonald's, wearing heels to play football. It is personality, confidence and seduction.
John GallianoRead
They [photographs] teach you about your own unraveling past, or about the immediacy of yesterday. They show you what you look at. If you take a photograph, you've been responsive to something, and you looked hard at it. Hard for a thousandth of a second, hard for ten minutes. But hard, nonetheless. And it's the quality of that bite that teaches you how connected you were to that thing, and where you stood in relation to it, then and now.
Joel MeyerowitzRead
Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.
Billy JoelRead
Because I sidestepped all the stereotypical roles, in a way I've made a career out of not being Asian - a lot of my roles weren't written as Asian - so there's an impulse in me that wants to take a U-turn and play a very grounded, real Asian character, maybe an immigrant.
John ChoRead
Chic is a kind of mayonnaise, either it tastes, or it doesn't.
Karl LagerfeldRead