QuoteProject
I think all creative people are operating from the fear that, of the best of what they did, will anybody remember it? Will anybody tell stories about them? Will anybody keep those pictures on the mantle long after they are gone? It's why people write stories. It's peoples' grave markers.
George C. Wolfe
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote expresses the deep-seated fear of artists about their legacy and the impact of their creations on future generations.

George C. Wolfe articulates the anxiety that many creative individuals experience regarding whether their work will be remembered or appreciated after they are gone. The quote suggests that the act of creation serves as a way for people to leave a lasting mark on the world, akin to a grave marker that signifies their existence and contributions long after they depart.

Themes

CreativityLegacyFearMemoryArt

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech at an art exhibition, one could use this quote to discuss the importance of remembering artists and their work.

More from George C. Wolfe

Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push back, when they breathe, when they surrender.
George C. WolfeRead
One of the things I learned very early on was that if you cast the show correctly, and if you've created the right energy in the room, the solution is also in the room. The solution doesn't necessarily come from someone, but if everybody is working in a very steadfast and rigorous way, then everything you're looking for is in the room.
George C. WolfeRead
A musical is what happens when text collides with motion collides with song collides with spectacle. And spectacle can be the human heart; it doesn't necessarily have to be a helicopter crashing.
George C. WolfeRead
The wonderful thing about theater is that it has so many people involved in the creation of it. The worst thing about theater is that it has so many people involved in the creation of it. That dynamic is thrilling and challenging every time you make a show.
George C. WolfeRead
I was raised to believe that other people's suffering was my responsibility.
George C. WolfeRead
I think I am the first person of color to direct a major white play on Broadway. In 1993? That's astounding to me. And horrifying to me.
George C. WolfeRead

Similar quotes

I remember the Chillicothe ballplayers grappling the Long Island ball players in a sixteen-inning game ended by darkness. And the shoulders of the Chillicothe players were a red smoke against the sundown and the shoulders of the Rock Island players were a yellow smoke against the sundown. And the umpire's voice was hoarse calling balls and strikes and outs and the umpire's throat fought in the dust for a song.
Carl SandburgRead
Songs for me are like a message in a bottle. You send them out to the world, and maybe the person who you feel that way about will hear about it someday.
Taylor SwiftRead
It may be said that artist and censor differ in this wise: that the first is a decent mind in an indecent body and that the second is an indecent mind in a decent body.
George Jean NathanRead
The Last Airbender is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented. The laws of chance suggest that something should have gone right. Not here. It puts a nail in the coffin of low-rent 3D, but it will need a lot more coffins than that.
Roger EbertRead
Many really good films allow us to empathize with other lives.
Roger EbertRead
Why not do something strange and different for once? Artists can do whatever they want!
Marina AbramovicRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.