A man climbs a mountain because it is there. An artist makes a work of art because it is not there.
Carl AndreRead
My art springs from my desire to have things in the world which would otherwise never be there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the artist's drive to create and introduce new elements to the world through their art.
In this quote, Carl Andre expresses the intrinsic motivation behind his artistic creation. He implies that art arises from a deep-seated desire to manifest new ideas, forms, and experiences that do not exist in the world without the artist's vision and effort. It emphasizes the role of artists as creators who enhance reality by adding beauty and thought-provoking elements, ultimately serving to inspire and connect people through new expressions.
Themes
ArtCreationDesireInnovationExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on the importance of creativity at a school graduation.
More from Carl Andre
All quotes βMy art will reflect not necessarily conscious politics but the unanalysed politics of my life.
Carl AndreRead
Every time you work, you have to do it all over again, to rid yourself of this dross. I suppose for a person who is not an artist or not attempting art, it is not dross, because it is the common exchange of everyday life.
Carl AndreRead
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I think a playwright realizes after he finishes working on the script that this is only the beginning. What will happen when it moves into three dimensions?
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At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.
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As I listen to the silence, I learn that my feelings about art and my feelings about the Creator of the Universe are inseparable. To try to talk about art and about Christianity is for me one and the same thing, and it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory.
Madeleine L'EngleRead
Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it 'creative observation.' Creative viewing.
William S. BurroughsRead