Frustration is one of the great things in art. Satisfaction is nothing.
Interpretation
Frustration is a crucial part of the artistic process, while satisfaction is ultimately unimportant.
In this quote, Philip Guston highlights the importance of frustration in the creative journey. He suggests that the struggle and challenges faced during the artistic process are essential for growth and expression, whereas the final satisfaction of completing a piece is trivial in comparison to the experiences gained along the way.
In practice
In a discussion about creativity at an art workshop.
No good to paint in the head - what happens is what happens when you put the paint down - you can only hope that you are alert - ready - to see. What joy it is for paint to become a thing - a being. Believe in this miracle - it is your only hope. To will this transformation is not possible. Only a slow maturation can prepare the hand and eye to become quicker than ever. Ideas about art don't matter. They collapse anyway in front of the painting.
I go to the studio everyday because one day I may go and the Angel will be there. What if I don't go and the Angel comes?
You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style' - as if you had a choice in the matter... What you're doing is trying to stay alive and continue and not die.
If the artist starts evaluating himself, itβs an enormous block, isnβt it?
Painting is an illusion, a piece of magic, so what you see is not what you see.
Probably the most potent desire for a painter, an image-maker, is to see it. To see what the mind can think and imagine, to realize it for oneself, through oneself, as concretely as possible.
My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I would really think of the bakery counters, of the way the counter was lit, where the pies were placed, but I wanted just a piece of the experience. From when I worked in restaurants . . . [it was] always poetic to me.
There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a few.
If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.
I've heard some writers say things like, 'Well, I'm a professional writer. I only start books I know I can finish.' I look at it maybe the other way: I only want to write books I'm not sure I can write.
The main thing in making art often is letting go of your expectation and your idea.
I think you reveal yourself by what you choose to photograph, but I prefer photographs that tell more about the subject. There's nothing much interesting to tell about me; what's interesting is the person I'm photographing, and that's what I try to show. [...] I think each photographer has a point of view and a way of looking at the world... that has to do with your subject matter and how you choose to present it. What's interesting is letting people tell you about themselves in the picture.
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