Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.
BalthusRead
Painting what I experience, translating what I feel, is like a great liberation. But it is also work, self-examination, consciousness, criticism, struggle.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the duality of painting as both a liberating experience and a challenging process involving self-reflection and critique.
In this quote, Balthus expresses how painting serves as a means of freedom, allowing him to convey his experiences and emotions. However, he also acknowledges that this artistic endeavor is not without its struggles, as it requires introspection, critical analysis, and a commitment to hard work.
In practice
In an art class, a teacher could inspire students by sharing this quote to highlight the importance of both creative freedom and the effort involved in the artistic process.
Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression, a species of writing: it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality.
What is Music? How do you define it? Music is a calm moonlit night, the rustle of leaves in Summer. Music is the far off peal of bells at dusk! Music comes straight from the heart and talks only to the heart: it is Love! Music is the Sister of Poetry and her Mother is sorrow!
Beauty's where you find it; not just where you bump and grind it.
I was honoured when they asked me to appear at the president's birthday rally in Madison Square Garden. There was like a hush over the whole place when I came on to sing 'Happy Birthday,' like if I had been wearing a slip, I would have thought it was showing or something. I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, what if no sound comes out!'
There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.
I say over and over again that I am just standing on the shoulders of so many who have set this path for me, and they may not be seen or recognized or have been given an opportunity to have a voice, but I'm here representing all of those dancers. Dance Theatre of Harlem Virginia Johnson, Tai Jimenez, Lauren Anderson.
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