The creation of a work of art, like an act of love, is our one small 'yes' at the center of a vast 'no.'
Interpretation
Creating art is a positive affirmation in a world often filled with negativity.
Gore Vidal's quote highlights the act of creation, whether it be in art or in love, as a significant gesture of affirmation and positivity amidst the overwhelming negativity that might surround us. It suggests that in a world that often says 'no' to many endeavors, the act of producing art or expressing love stands out as a meaningful and productive acknowledgment of existence.
In practice
This quote can be shared during an art exhibit opening to inspire artists.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
Without music, life would be a mistake.
It's important to take bad pictures. It's the bad ones that have to do with what you've never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn't seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again.
How many of the original songs survive intact from the slave cabins? Probably not many in their original form. Time has transformed them like light in a prism. What we hope to present is a version of those spirituals, and they speak not just to black Americans, but to people worldwide.
I've never been that much of a money guy. I'm more of a film guy, and most of the money I've made is in defense of trying to keep creative control of my movies.
Every paint-stroke takes you farther and farther away from your initial concept. And you have to be thankful for that.
Art would be useless if the world were perfect.
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