Sometimes I sound like gravel, and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream.
Nina SimoneRead
It's an artist's duty to reflect the times in which we live.
Interpretation
Artists have a responsibility to express the societal and cultural issues of their time.
Nina Simone's quote emphasizes the important role artists play in society. Through their work, artists capture and comment on the realities of the world around them, reflecting the struggles, triumphs, and complexities of the human experience as shaped by contemporary events and social issues. This engagement not only holds a mirror to society but also encourages dialogue and reflection among audiences.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of artists in social movements.
Sometimes I sound like gravel, and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream.
Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
I only knew classical music, which to me was the only true music. The only way I could survive at the bar was to mix the classical music with popular songs, and that meant I had to sing. What happened was that I discovered I had a voice plus the talent to mix classical music together with more popular songs, which at the time I detested.
Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.
I didn't get interested in music. It was a gift from God.
This may be a dream, but I'll say it anyway: I was supposed to be married last year, and I bought a gown. When I meet Nelson Mandela, I shall put on this gown and have the train of it removed and put aside, and kiss the ground that he walks on and then kiss his feet.
What do dancers think of Fred Astaire? It's no secret. We hate him. He gives us a complex because he's too perfect. His perfection is an absurdity. It's too hard to face.
Music is part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behavior.
Making a movie is a network of decisions that keep multiplying as you go. You leave a trail of decisions behind you, and that's how you start to see the shape of what you've done. When you get far enough, you turn around and say, 'Ha, that's the movie.' It's only then that you find out if it's going to work or not.
You have to accept as an architect to be exposed to criticism. Architecture should not rely on full harmony.
Part of what horror is, is taking risks and going somewhere that people think you're not supposed to be able to go, in the name of expressing real-life fears.
Believing that art is either worth a fortune or worth nothing at all.
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