My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes.
Interpretation
Art can be expressed in various forms, including movement, rather than just traditional mediums.
In this quote, Steve Prefontaine highlights his view of artistry as a dynamic expression of the human body through performance, rather than through static mediums like painting or photography. He emphasizes the idea that true art is a living experience, meant to be shared and witnessed by an audience in real-time, transforming the concept of art into something that is interactive and deeply personal.
In practice
In a discussion about different forms of artistic expression at a gallery opening.
How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre', 'Give up your foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN.
The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them?
The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.
Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.
This is my last year at Oregon, and it means a lot to me. The people have been great to me up there, so if I have to run three races to win the Pac-8 title, I'll do it. Oh, sure, I'll probably be tired, but the people shouting will carry me across the finish line.
World records at 19. I don't want that. Later, yes. And when it comes, I'll learn to live with it, but it won't be my first love.
Sudden Light I have been here before, But when or how I cannot tell: I know the grass beyond the door, The sweet keen smell, The sighing sound, the light around the shore.
The days of the painter at the Bauhaus appear to be truly over. They are estranged from the actual core of present activities, and their influence is more restricting than inspiring.
First you have nothing, and then, astonishingly, after ripping out your brain and your heart and betraying your friends and ex-lovers and dreaming like a zombie over the page till you can't see or hear or smell or taste, you have something.
My fashion is about the urban woman in the year 3000. I think about obscure, weird things and try to create a world around them.
Media gatekeepers - editors, publishers, film studios and the like - need to begin investing in talent behind the scenes, developing and resourcing marginalized voices to tell their own stories. At the end of the day, it's about the story and what will enable the audience to truly see, understand, and know the life and times of the subject.
I'm a great audience. I cry very easily. I suspend disbelief in two seconds.
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