The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our nose, and we will be forced to flee.
Jean CocteauRead
The composer opens the cage door for arithmetic, the draftsman gives geometry its freedom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the role of artists in liberating mathematical concepts, allowing them to be expressed creatively.
Jean Cocteau's quote illustrates the interplay between art and mathematics, suggesting that while mathematics is often seen as rigid and confining, artists can provide an outlet for these disciplines, allowing them to flourish and be reimagined. The composer and draftsman metaphorically 'open the cage door,' granting freedom to arithmetic and geometry to be explored in innovative and abstract ways, thus bridging the gap between structure and creativity.
Themes
ArtMathematicsCreativityFreedomExpression
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the relationship between art and science, this quote could be used to illustrate how creativity enhances understanding.
More from Jean Cocteau
All quotes βOne must be a living man and a posthumous artist.
Jean CocteauRead
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
Jean CocteauRead
Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
Jean CocteauRead
Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.
Jean CocteauRead
Watch yourself all your life in a mirror and you'll see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.
Jean CocteauRead
Similar quotes
If I don't have a script I adore, I do one I like. If I don't have one I like, I do one that has an actor I like or that presents some technical challenge.
Sidney LumetRead
All of life in its complexity and beauty is forever minted in the gold of words.
Yevgeny ZamyatinRead
So, in some ways, the political songs tend to be a bit more like reportage, whereas the love songs tend to be like novels, you can pick them up off the shelf and go into them any time.
Billy BraggRead
I can't read novels while I'm writing a novel, because somebody's voice creeps in.
T. C. BoyleRead
Music played a large role in the survival of the black people in America β that and a sense of humor that just couldn't be enslaved.
Redd FoxxRead
Do not write if there is no tremendous urge to do so. At the heart, there must be an inspiration or muse or one of those old-fashioned things. Else, why bore yourself, destroy other people's interest and kill trees?
Vikram SethRead