What I hate about kitchen-sink dramas is [this idea] that the set is real, therefore you're going to be seeing truth. You have to earn truth. Truth can't be a part of the fact that people appear to talk that way and live in that room. You're looking for the poetry in something, and I don't mean poetry in the fancy sense. Naturalism believes by just replicating a thing you give the truth, rather than earning the truth.
Interpretation
The quote critiques kitchen-sink dramas by stating that true representation and truth in art must be earned, not just replicated.
John Guare's quote emphasizes the importance of depth and authenticity in artistic expression, particularly in the context of kitchen-sink dramas. He argues that simply imitating reality or creating a seemingly realistic setting does not guarantee that the art will convey genuine truth. Instead, he suggests that true artistic expression requires a deeper exploration and understanding of the human condition, where the nuances and complexities of life are turned into something poetic, transcending mere replication of reality.
In practice
In a film discussion about the authenticity of emotional representation among characters.
You must keep people happy backstage because that affects what's onstage. During a run, the playwright feels like the mayor of a small town filled with noble creatures who have to get out there and make it brand new every night. When a production works, it's unlike any other joy in the world.
You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in terms of discovery, which is to say that creation must take place between the pen and the paper, not before in a thought or afterwards in a recasting... It will come if it is there and if you will let it come.
We should all develop the mind to rejoice in, praise and share in the gift of those who have artistic talents and a richness of heart, whether they achieve wide recognition or not. Cultivating such a beautiful mind is a very worthy effort. Culture and art are not just decorations. They are not just accessories. What matters is whether culture enriches the essential substance of our lives.
Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It's an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy. (about Guernica).
I'm playing deep African music.
A good writer should be able to write comedic work that made you laugh, and scary stuff that made you scared, and fantasy or science fiction that imbued you with a sense of wonder, and mainstream journalism that gave you clear and concise information in a way that you wanted it.
I feel the need of attaining the maximum of intensity with the minimum of means. It is this which has led me to give my painting a character of even greater bareness.
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