My art will reflect not necessarily conscious politics but the unanalysed politics of my life.
Carl AndreRead
A man climbs a mountain because it is there. An artist makes a work of art because it is not there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the intrinsic motivations behind human creativity and exploration.
Carl Andre's quote reflects on the differences between the motivations of climbers and artists. A mountaineer seeks the thrill of conquering a challenge simply because it exists, while an artist creates to fill a void, to manifest something that is absent and to explore imagination and creativity. This highlights the innate human desire to push boundaries in different domains, whether through physical feat or artistic expression.
Themes
CreativityExplorationArtChallengeMotivation
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about pursuing passions, this quote highlights the unique drive of artists.
More from Carl Andre
All quotes →Every time you work, you have to do it all over again, to rid yourself of this dross. I suppose for a person who is not an artist or not attempting art, it is not dross, because it is the common exchange of everyday life.
Carl AndreRead
My art springs from my desire to have things in the world which would otherwise never be there.
Carl AndreRead
Similar quotes
I love playing with makeup. Makeup has become a thing where it's an art form. It's not a thing where you use it because you need to feel beautiful or because you don't like the way you look.
ZendayaRead
Against Him those women sin who torment their skin with potions, stain their cheeks with rouge and extend the line of their eyes with black coloring. Doubtless they are dissatisfied with God's plastic skill. In their own persons they convict and censure the Artificer of all things.
TertullianRead
It's a bit naff, but there is something exciting about pulling a bit of pottery out of the ground that's 2,000 years old.
Mary BeardRead
Technique does not constitute art. Nor is it a vague, fuzzy romantic quality known as ‘beauty,’ remote from the realities of everyday life. It is the depth and intensity of an artist’s experience that are the first importance in art.
Grant WoodRead
A great architect is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he is made by way of a cultivated, enriched heart.
Frank Lloyd WrightRead
Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.
Jules RenardRead