My parents are both college professors, and it made me want to question authority, standards and traditions.
Maya LinRead
I cannot force a design; I do not see this process as being under my conscious control.
Interpretation
Creativity is often an unconscious process that cannot be forced.
Maya Lin's quote reflects the intricate nature of the creative process, suggesting that true design and artistic expression cannot be dictated or controlled consciously. Instead, it is a fluid and organic journey that emerges from within, highlighting the importance of allowing creativity to unfold naturally rather than trying to impose strict control over it.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a creative workshop to encourage participants to trust their instincts.
My parents are both college professors, and it made me want to question authority, standards and traditions.
I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.
How we are using up our home, how we are living and polluting the planet is frightening. It was evident when I was a child. It's more evident now.
Sometimes you have to stop thinking. Sometimes you shut down completely. I think that's true in any creative field.
A lot of my works deal with a passage, which is about time. I don't see anything that I do as a static object in space. It has to exist as a journey in time.
When I was building the Vietnam Memorial, I never once asked the veterans what it was like in the war, because from my point of view, you don't pry into other people's business.
A song doesn't just come on. I've always had to tease it out, squeeze it out. 'No thesaurus can give you those words, no rhyming dictionary. They must happen out of you.
A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.
A work of art is one through which the consciousness of the artist is able to give its emotions to anyone who is prepared to receive them. There is no such thing as bad art.
Anyone who has ever been privileged to direct a film also knows that, although it can be like trying to write 'War and Peace' in a bumper car in an amusement park, when you finally get it right, there are not many joys in life that can equal the feeling.
I've never put out a song that I wasn't completely proud of and that I didn't love. In that sense, I've never felt like I sold out in any way.
The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.
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