Perseverance has kept me going over the years. Things rarely happen overnight. Filmmakers should be prepared for many years of hard work. The sheer toil can be healthy and exhilarating.
Werner HerzogRead
We live in an era when established values are no longer valid, when prodigious discoveries are being made every year, when catastrophes of unbelievable proportions occur weekly. In ancient Greek the word “chaos” means “gaping void” or “yawning emptiness.” The most effective response to the chaos in our lives is the creation of new forms of literature, music, poetry, art and cinema.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of creativity and artistic expression in response to the chaos and changes in our world.
Werner Herzog highlights that in times of chaos and upheaval, traditional values may lose their significance. As new discoveries and catastrophic events emerge, the best way to navigate through uncertainty is to foster creativity through literature, music, poetry, art, and cinema. These artistic endeavors can provide meaning and understanding in a rapidly changing world.
Themes
ChaosCreativityArtLiteratureMusicPoetryResponseValues
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a cultural conference.
More from Werner Herzog
All quotes →Hold firm to your vision but don't be a tyrant on set.
Werner HerzogRead
For a moment the feeling crept over me that my work, my vision, is going to destroy me, and for a fleeting moment I let myself take a long, hard look at myself, something I would not otherwise do--out of instinct, on principle, out of self-preservation--look at myself with objective curiosity to see whether my vision has not destroyed me already. I found it comforting to note that I was still breathing.
Werner HerzogRead
Very often, footage that you have shot develops its own dynamic, it's own life, that is totally unexpected, and moves away from you're original intentions. And you have to acknowledge, yes, there is a child growing and developing and moving in a direction that isn't expected-accept it as it is and let it develop its own life.
Werner HerzogRead
Without dreams we would be cows in a field, and I don't want to live like that. I live my life or I end my life with this project.
Werner HerzogRead
Coincidences always happen if you keep your mind open, while storyboards remain the instruments of cowards who do not trust in their own imagination and who are slaves of a matrix If you get used to planning your shots based solely on aesthetics, you are never that far from kitsch.
Werner HerzogRead
Similar quotes
I consider plot a necessary intrusion on what I really want to do, which is write snappy dialogue.
Aaron SorkinRead
It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.
Frank OceanRead
The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.
Edward HirschRead
You know how a lot of people say, 'I lose myself in music,' or 'I like to escape,' but I want my music to be more of an awakening. I want it to make people to be aware of life; I don't want my music to be a distraction. I want to light a path.
Jhene AikoRead
An artist's job is to surprise himself. Use all means possible.
Robert HenriRead
But if writing about people who are not yourself is illegitimate, then the only legitimate work is autobiography; and as a reader and a citizen, I don’t want to live in that world.
Katherine BooRead