No nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even if it be only the faintest shadow - and if it does not do so it is bad art and false morals.
Interpretation
Art, particularly nudes, should evoke some level of erotic response in the viewer to be considered impactful.
In this quote, Kenneth Clark argues that the portrayal of nudes in art is fundamentally linked to the viewer's emotional and erotic response. He suggests that if a piece fails to trigger even a minimal sense of eroticism, it is indicative of poor artistic quality and possibly a failure of moral representation, highlighting the intrinsic relationship between art and human feelings.
In practice
A discussion on the role of nudes in art history during an art class.
The recognized achievements of some Negroes, despite rigid racial barriers, indicate that society by its prejudices may be depriving itself of valuable contributions from many others. It is now doubtful whether America can afford the luxury of such a waste of human resources.
Racial prejudices are indication of a disturbed and potentially unstable society.
The challenge for a nonfiction writer is to achieve a poetic precision using the documents of truth but somehow to make people and places spring to life as if the reader was in their presence.
I give you soul. I give you wisdom and light and music and a bit of laughter. Also, I am the world's greatest horseplayer.
All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.
All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood.
When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears, another word appears, an image. It is a moving into mystery.
Writers kid themselves-about themselves and other people. Take the talk about writing methods. Writing is just work-there's no secret. If you dictate or use a pen or type with your toes-it is just work.
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